BV  2550  .F26  1903, „"^  .^.o^ 
Fahs,  Charles  H.  1872-1948, 

The  open  door 


TDiT    oRcn       vna.    1  am 


Library  of  the  Theological  Seminary 

PRINCETON       •       NEW  JERSEY 


Presented  by 

Dr.  Earl  A.  Pope 
Manson  Professor  of  Bible 

Lafayette  College 
The  Earl  A.  Pope  Collection 


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THE  OPEN  DOOR 

A   CHALLENGE   TO    MISSIONARY  ADVANCE 


THE  OPEN  DOOR ' 


A  Challenge  to  Missionary  Advance 


Addresses  Delivered  Before  the  First 
General  Missionary  Convention  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  Held  in 
Cleveland,  Ohio,  October  ai  to  24,  1902 


EDITORS 

CHARLES    H.  FAHS 
STEPHEN   J.  HERBEN 
STEPHEisUOjHey&NXPN 

FEB    6-  ^0^2^ 

New  York  :    EATON    &   MAINS 

Cincinnati:    JENNINGS    &    PYE 

1903 


Copyright  by 

EATON   &    MAINS 
1903 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

The  Organization  of  the  Convention 3-12 

The  Convention  Program 13-20 

The  Convention  Addresses 21-337 

"  The  Purpose  of  the  Convention  " 21-28 

Bishop  Edward  G.  Andrews 

"  The  Emergency  " 29-34 

Rev.  A.  B.  Leonard,  LL.D. 
"  Methodist  Missions  of  the  Nineteenth  Century  " 35-54 

Rev.  J.  M.  Buckley,  D.D. 
' '  Spiritual  Preparation  for  Missionary  Service  "......        55-63 

Rev.  A.  H.  Tuttle,  D.D. 
' '  Home  Allies  in  Our  Work  of  Evangelization  " 64-70 

H.  K.  Carroll,  LL.D. 

"  Our  Opportunity  ", ,...,,,  0  .. , 7^-94 

Bishop  C.  He  Fowler 
"The  Words  are  Spirit  and  Life " 94-100 

Rev.  W.  I.  Haven,  D.D. 
"The  Negro  a  Missionary  Investment,  a  Missionary 

Investor" loo-iii 

Rev.  J.  W.  E.  Bowen,  D.D. 
"Our  Foreign  Populations  and  How  to  Reach  Them  "  1 1 2-1 20 

Rev.  G.  B.  Addicks,  D.D. 

"Our  City  Problem"....  , • •    1 21-134 

Rev.  F.  M.  North,  D.D. 


VI  CONTENTS 

PAGE 

"The  Open  Door  in  Hawaii  and  the  Philippines  " . . . .    135-144 
Rev.  H.  C.  Stuntz,  D.D. 

"The  Open  Door  in  Latin  Countries" 145-155 

Bishop  C.  C.  McCabe 

**  The  Open  Door  in  Eastern  Asia  " 155-163 

Bishop  D.  H.  Moore 

"  The  Open  Door  in  Africa  " 1 63-1 81 

Bishop  J.  C.  Hartzell 

* '  The  Open  Door  in  Southern  Asia  " 1 8 i-i 89 

Bishop  J.  M.  Thoburn 

"Why  the  World  Should  be  Speedily  Evangelized". .    189-200 
Rev.  E.  M.  Taylor,  D.D. 

"  What  '  Retrenchment  '  Means  " 201-213 

Bishop  Cyrus  D.  Foss 

"  It  Tendeth  to  Poverty  " 213-223 

Rev.  J.  W.  Bashford,  D.D. 

"What  the  Presiding-  Elder  Can  Do  " 223-231 

Rev.  W.  T.  Perrin,  D.D. 

"  What  the  District  Missionary  Secretary  Can  Do  "...    232-237 
Rev.  W.  F.  Oldham,  D.D. 

* '  What  the  Pastor  Can  Do  " 238-243 

Rev.  J.  O.  Wilson,  D.D. 

"What  the  Sunday  School  Superintendent  Can  Do".   244-249 
Mr.  W.  W.  Cooper 

"  What  a  Local  Church  Has  Done  " 250-255 

Rev.  J.  W.  Magruder 

" The  Place  of  Prayer  in  Missionary  Work" 255-259 

Bishop  H.  W.  Warren 

"  Young  People  and  Missions  " 259-267 

Mr.  S.  Earl  Taylor 


CONTENTS  #ii 

PAGB 

"  Reasons  Why  the  Home  Church  Must  Go  Forward  "  268-278 
Mr.  J.  R.  Mott 

Introduction  to  the  Financial  Session 278-280 

Rev,  John  F.  Goucher,  LL.D. 

"  Beloved,  if  God  So  Loved  Us  " 281-287 

Rev.  W.  F.  McDowell,  D.D. 

"The  Need  of  Missionary  Information  in  the  Home 

Church  " 287-301 

Rev.  George  B.  Smyth,  D.D. 

"The  Education  and   Training  of  Young  People  in 

Scriptural  Habits  of  Giving  ". 301-31 1 

Rev.  C.  E.  Locke,  D.D. 

"What  Money  Means  for  Educational  Work  in  the 

Foreign  Fields  " 31 1-3 1 5 

Rev.  F.  D.  Gamewell,  Ph.D. 

"An  Appeal  from  China  " 316 

Mr.  Chen  Wei  Cheng 

' '  The  Responsibility  Resting  upon  the  Delegates  to 

This  Convention " 316-321 

Mr.  John  R.  Mott 

"Christ  Our  Living  Leader" 321-334 

Mr.  Robert  E.  Speer 

The  Closing  Address 334-337 

Bishop  James  M.  Thoburn 

The  Section  Conferences 338-382 

' '  The  Woman's  Foreign  Missionary  Society — Its  Equip- 
ment and  Outlook  " 338-345 

Mrs.  J.  T.  Gracey 

"  The  Work  of  the  Woman's  Home  Missionary  Society  "  346-348 
Mrs.  Delia  Lathrop  Williams 


Vlll  CONTENTS 

PAGE 

"The  Value  of  Industrial  Training  in  Our  Southern 

Schools  " 348-353 

Mrs.  W.  P.  Thirkield 

"  Alaska,  Hawaii,  and  Porto  Rico  ". 354-35^ 

Mrs.  May  Leonard  Woodruff 

••The  Deaconess  as  a  Missionary  Worker  " 357-359 

Rev.  W.  P.  Oldham,  D.D. 

What  the  Presiding  Elder  and  the  District  Missionary 

Secretary  Can  Do , 359-362 

Section  Conference  Discussion 

What  the  Pastor  Can  Do« ,...,., 363-378 

Section  Conference  Discussion 

What  the  Lay  Worker  Can  Do 378-381 

Section  Conference  Discussion 

What  the  Young  People  Can  Do ,  382 

Section  Conference  Policy 

Appendix „ c . .   383-391 

Index ^ 393-404 


<l. 


THE  FIRST 

GENERAL  MISSIONARY  CONVENTION 

OF  THE 

METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 


THE  ORGANIZATION   OF   THE 
CONVENTION 


At  the  Ecumenical  Missionary  Conference  held  in  New  York  The 
city  in  1900  the  delegates  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  MSni^^ 
South,  met  to  discuss  ways  and  means  of  taking  back  the  message  Conference 
of  that  Conference  to  their  denomination.     After  much  prayer 
and  discussion  it  was  decided  that  the  most  effective  way  of  doing 
so  would  be  to  reproduce  it  as  far  as  possible  upon  a  denomina- 
tional basis — in  other  words,  to  arrange  for  a  great  denomina- 
tional    missionary     convention     under    the    auspices     of    their 
Missionary   Board.     A   committee   was   appointed   and   certain 
delegates   from   the   Methodist   Episcopal    Church,    South,   con- 
sulted with  delegates  from  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  con- 
cerning ways  in  which  the  proposed  convention  of  the  Church 
South  might  be  made  a  great  success. 

In  April,  1901,  more  than  a  thousand  delegates  from  the  The 
Southland  assembled  in  New  Orleans,  and  for  seven  days  they  co^^entiSr' 
sat  under  the  spell  of  one  of  the  most  powerful  missionary  con- 
ventions which  have  been  held  on  this  continent.  Five  repre- 
sentatives from  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  were  privileged 
to  attend  the  New  Orleans  Convention  as  representatives  of  the 
denomination.  These  visitors  were:  Bishop  J.  M.  Thoburn, 
Drs.  John  F.  Goucher  and  F.  D.  Gamewell,  and  Messrs.  John  R. 
Mott  and  S.  Earl  Taylor.  At  the  conclusion  of  the  convention 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  representatives  were  unanimously  of 
the  opinion  that  their  Church  should  profit  by  such  a  convention, 
when  the  opportune  moment  should  arrive. 

In  the  fall  of  1901  the  General  Missionary  Committee  met  in 
Pittsburg.  At  that  time  it  became  necessary  to  cut  the  missionary 
appropriations  about  eight  per  cent.  This,  preceded  by  the  cut 
of  more  than  two  per  cent  of  the  year  previous,  reduced  our 
missions  to  a  desperate  condition  and  made  it  evident  to  all  that 
something  must  be  done,  and  done  quickly.    Upon  recommenda- 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


The 

Open  Door 
Emergency 
Commission 


The 

Convt^ntion 

Planned 


tion  of  the  General  Missionary  Committee  the  Board  of  Man- 
agers elected  field  secretaries  and  appointed  an  Open  Door 
Emergency  Commission  to  do  all  within  its  power  to  bring  to 
the  Church  a  realization  of  the  imperative  needs  of  our  mission 
fields  throughout  the  world. 

The  Open  Door  Emergency  Commission  had  its  first  meeting 
on  January  2,  1902,  continuing  for  two  days.  It  was  a  memor- 
able meeting,  not  only  because  of  the  plans  which  were  devised 
at  that  time,  but  also  because  of  the  deep  spirit  of  prayer  which 
was  manifest  throughout.  As  is  now  generally  known,  plans 
Avere  at  that  time  devised  which  contributed  largely  during 
eight  months  of  efifort  toward  the  increase  of  $112,000  in  the 
regular  collections  of  the  Church  for  the  fiscal  year,  this  increase 
making  possible  an  increase  of  appropriations  to  our  foreign 
missions  of  fifteen  and  a  half  per  cent  and  to  our  home  missions 
of  thirteen  and  a  half  per  cent. 

The  plans  of  the  Commission,  however,  did  not  terminate  in 
an  endeavor  simply  to  increase  the  regular  collections  of  the 
Church,  for  it  was  felt  that  the  Church  nuist  be  awakened  to  the 
importance  of  doing  larger  things  for  the  extension  of  the  king- 
dom of  Christ  throughout  the  world  than  had  ever  yet  been 
attempted,  and  it  was  soon  seen  that  one  of  the  most  effective 
ways  of  stirring  the  Church  would  be  by  bringing  together  the 
leaders  of  the  Church  in  a  delegated  convention.  It  was  felt  by 
the  members  of  the  Commission  that  the  time  for  such  a  con- 
vention was  ripe  because  of  the  emergency  confronting  the 
Church,  and  because  of  the  fact  that  it  would  be  possible  to  hold 
the  convention  midway  between  the  sessions  of  the  General  Con- 
ference. It  was  decided,  therefore,  that  the  year's  work  should 
culminate  in  a  great  convention  which  should  be  held  in 
October  just  preceding  the  General  Missionary  Committee 
meeting. 

Because  of  the  important  questions,  fin.mcial  and  other,  which 
were  involved  in  planning  for  such  a  convention,  the  Commission 
determined  to  move  with  deliberation  in  the  arranging  of  all 
details.  Information  was  obtained  concerning  the  plan  of 
organization  of  the  New  York  Ecumenical  Missionary  Confer- 
ence, of  the  New  Orleans  Convention,  of  the  International  Stu- 
dent Missionary  Conference  (held  in  London  in  January,  1900), 
and,  in  addition  to  this,  a  committee  was  appointed  to  visit  the 


ORGANIZATION  4        5 

Student  Volunteer  Convention  held  in  Toronto,  the  last  of 
February,  1902,  to  make  a  most  thorough  investigation,  to  meet 
during  the  closing  days  of  the  convention,  and  to  formulate  a 
report  to  the  Commission  as  to  whether  or  not,  in  view  of  the 
information  secured,  it  seemed  feasible  to  project  a  general  mis- 
sionary convention  for  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  The 
committee  brought  back  a  favorable  report,  and  the  Commission 
at  once  appointed  the  following  Program  Committee:  Bishop  Program 
E.  G.  Andrews,  Drs.  A.  B.  Leonard,  H.  K.  Carroll,  and  John  F.  Appointed 
Goucher,  and  ]\Ir.  S.  Earl  Taylor,  Bishop  Andrews  to  be  chairman 
and  Mr.  Taylor  secretary.  This  committee  was  given  full 
power  to  perfect  all  of  the  details  concerning  the  program,  and 
at  a  later  date  was  made  an  Executive  Committee  for  all  purposes 
for  which  other  specific  provision  was  not  made. 

The  Program  Committee  proceeded  to  lay  out  its  general  plan 
of  organization  and  to  draw  up  the  preliminary  draft  of  a 
program,  but  before  doing  so  it  settled  upon  what  it  considered 
to  be  the  purpose  of  the  convention  (inspiration,  organization  of 
the  forces,  prayer,  and  consultation).  It  also  adopted  the  follow- 
ing basal  principles:  That  no  person  should  be  put  on  the 
program  as  a  compliment ;  no  one  should  be  put  on  who  had  not 
been  tried  in  convention  work ;  and  no  one  should  be  put  on 
who  would  be  apt  to  "miss  fire."  In  the  preliminary  plan  of 
organization  two  clear  lines  were  laid  down : 

First,  that  the  Program  Committee  would  consider  itself  as 
having  charge  of  every  detail  of  the  convention,  including  the 
preparation  of  the  program,  the  organization  of  the  convention, 
the  music,  the  control  of  the  hall  during  convention  hours,  the  • 
accrediting  of  all  delegates  and  the  issuing  of  all  tickets,  adver- 
tising the  convention  through  the  press  and  providing  for  all 
expenses  outside  of  those  incurred  by  the  local  committees. 

Second,  that  in  the  place  where  the  convention  should  be  held 
a  local  Executive  Committee  should  be  organized  and  that  this 
local  Executive  Committee  should  be  asked  to  assume  charge  of 
the  following  lines  of  work :  Securing  the  convention  hall ; 
providing  a  place  for  the  missionary  exhibit;  providing  for  the 
overflow  meetings;  selecting  and  securing  places  of  entertain- 
ment for  the  delegates  on  a  self-supporting  basis ;  the  reception 
of  delegates,  and  the  raising  of  the  necessary  finances  for  the 
local  expenses. 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


Cleveland 
Invites  the 
Convention 


Committees 
Organized 


Promotion 
of  Prayer 


When  these  hnes  had  been  laid  down  the  secretary  of  the 
Program  Committee  was  sent  to  Cleveland,  O.,  to  confer  with 
the  Ministerial  Association  of  that  city,  to  know  if  Cleveland 
would  be  willing  to  entertain  the  convention  in  October  of  1902. 
After  careful  consideration  by  the  ministers  and  prominent  lay- 
men of  the  city  an  invitation  was  extended,  a  local  Executive 
Committee  was  appointed,  and  the  secretary  of  the  New  York- 
committee  met  with  the  local  committee,  explained  to  them  the 
plan  of  organization  which  was  proposed  by  the  New  York  com- 
mittee, and  left  with  them  a  typewritten  outline  of  the  detailed 
plan  of  organization  of  the  convention. 

When  the  secretary  reported  to  the  New  York  committee  that 
Cleveland  was  prepared  to  entertain  the  convention  the  following 
committees  were  appointed  and  instructed  to  begin  their  w-ork : 
A  committee  on  working  up  the  delegations ;  a  committee  on 
transportation ;  a  committee  on  the  missionary  exhibit ;  a  press 
and  general  advertising  committee ;  and  a  committee  on  printed 
matter. 

As  soon  as  these  committees  had  been  thoroughly  organized 
they  quietly  proceeded  about  their  work.  The  committee  on 
working  up  the  delegations  conducted  a  personal  correspondence 
with  sixty-five  hundred  possible  delegates ;  the  committee  on 
transportation  began  negotiations  with  the  passenger  associations 
to  secure  the  reduced  rates ;  the  committee  on  missionary  exhibit 
laid  out  a  comprehensive  outline  for  the  ihissionary  exhibit,  and 
six  months  in  advance  of  the  convention  began  correspondence 
with  prospective  exhibitors ;  the  committee  on  press  and  general 
advertising  arranged  for  preliminary  announcements  in  the 
Church  papers  early  in  the  spring,  and  for  a  complete  write-up  of 
the  convention  in  all  of  the  Church  papers  for  the  first  issue  in 
October ;  the  committee  on  printed  matter  produced  the  adver- 
tising literature  for  the  convention ;  and  the  secretary  of  the 
Program  Committee,  under  its  direction,  supervised  the  various 
departments  and  sought  to  unify  the  work. 

The  special  preparations  for  the  convention  included  the  pro- 
motion of  definite  prayer  for  all  the  interests  represented  by  the 
gathering,  and  for  those  who  should  attend  it.  A  prayer  card 
was  sent  to  every  prospective  delegate,  to  all  Methodist  Episcopal 
missionaries,  and  to  hundreds  of  others.  The  correspondence 
which  came  to  the  central  office  showed  that  the  response  to  this 


ORGANIZATION  *  7 

prayer  request  was  immediate,  definite,  and  widespread.  The 
missionaries  on  the  field  were  especially  earnest  in  this  regard,  in 
one  instance  all  the  missionaries  at  a  given  important  station  in 
China  meeting  daily  for  prayer  immediately  before  and  during 
the  convention. 

The  Cleveland  local  Executive  Committee  was  organized  in  Preparations 
April.  Some  of  the  subcommittees  were  appointed  and  a  finan-  **  Cleveland 
cial  canvass  was  started  during  the  summer  months.  On  August 
15  the  local  executive  secretary  went  to  Cleveland  to  establish 
convention  headquarters  for  aggressive  work.  The  convention 
was  to  be  self-entertaining,  each  delegate  (with  the  exception  of 
missionaries  and  some  privileged  classes)  being  expected  to  pay 
for  his  entertainment.  In  addition  to  all  available  hotel  accom- 
modations it  was  necessary  to  provide  entertainment  for  about 
two  thousand  delegates  in  homes.  To  secure  hospitality  in  the 
desired  class  of  homes  repeated  notice  was  called  to  the  conven- 
tion through  the  Cleveland  daily  press,  through  weekly  church 
bulletins,  and  by  specially  prepared  circulars  and  letters.  To 
enlist  the  members  of  the  local  churches  in  prayer  for  the  con- 
vention, a  specially  prepared  prayer  card  was  distributed  among 
the  churches  of  the  city  two  months  previous  to  the  convention. 
Other  printed  matter  aiming  to  promote  prayer  and  cooperation 
on  the  part  of  the  local  churches  was  distributed  on  successive 
Sundays  through  the  pews.  Nine  committees  were  appointed 
and  employed  in  the  local  work,  two  hundred  and  thirty-one 
workers  from  the  several  Epworth  Leagues  composing  these 
committees.  In  addition  twenty-two  students  from  neighboring 
Methodist  colleges  were  secured  to  assist  in  ushering. 

Two  days  in  advance  of  the  convention  twenty-three  energetic 
young  pastors  and  laymen  who  had  had  experience  in  helping  to 
organize  previous  conventions  were  assembled  in  Cleveland  as  a 
special  working  force.  Every  department  of  the  convention 
work  was  placed  under  the  immediate  supervision  of  a  depart- 
mental head  and  this  departmental  head  was  given  three  or  four 
trusted  lieutenants  who  assisted  him  in  looking  after  the  details. 

The  following  special  convention  committees  were  organized :    Special 
A  business  committee ;   a  committee  to  supervise  the  seating  and   committees 
the  ventilation  of  the  hall ;    a  committee  on  ushers ;    a  committee 
on  printing ;    a  committee  on  decorations ;    a  committee  on  an- 
nouncements ;  a  committee  on  speakers ;   a  committee  to  promote 


8 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


The 
Convention 

Sessions 


Special 

Features 


prayer ;  a  committee  to  prepare  an  address  to  the  Church ;  a 
committee  on  section  meetings ;  a  committee  on  the  financial 
session;  a  committee  to  circulate  the  hymnbooks  and  handbooks 
of  the  convention ;  a  committee  on  registration ;  a  committee  on 
post  office ;  a  committee  on  information  bureau ;  a  committee  on 
reception  of  delegates ;  a  committee  on  parcel  stands.  These  sub- 
committees were  under  the  direction  of  the  departmental  heads, 
who  in  turn  reported  to  the  General  Executive  Committee  and 
the  local  executive  secretary. 

The  first  session  of  the  convention  was  held  Tuesday  afternoon, 
October  21,  and  the  last  session  Friday  evening,  October  24. 
Nine  main  sessions  and  nine  section  conferences  were  held  in  all. 
The  main  sessions  were  held  in  the  Armory  of  the  Cleveland 
Grays,  which  had  been  decorated  for  the  occasion  by  the  flags  of 
all  nations,  by  appropriate  Scripture  texts,  and  by  a  great  map 
of  the  world  which  hung  back  of  the  platform.  This  map  was 
prepared  originally  for  the  Ecumenical  Missionary  Conference 
of  1900,  and  showed  by  colors  the  prevailing  religions  in  all 
lands.  Repeated  references  were  made  to  the  map  by  speakers, 
and  its  voiceless  appeal  must  be  counted  one  of  the  stirring  mes- 
sages of  the  gathering. 

The  section  conferences  met  in  the  Armory,  in  the  First 
Methodist  Church,  the  Epworth  Memorial  Methodist  Church, 
the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  building,  and  in  other 
appointed  places. 

It  may  be  worthy  of  note  that  the  convention  differed  in  certain 
essential  points  from  previous  conventions  which  have  been  held 
in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 

There  was  a  permanent  presiding  officer  who  had  been  asso- 
ciated with  the  Program  Committee  from  the  beginning,  who 
knew  the  purposes  of  the  committee  and  was  therefore  able  to 
give  unity  to  the  convention. 

No  detailed  program  of  the  convention  sessions  was  printed, 
but  instead  a  daily  bulletin  was  issued,  which  gave  in  outline 
only  the  hours  of  the  sessions  and  the  places  of  meeting. 
While  some  were  inclined  to  criticise  this  at  first,  it  was  soon 
recognized  that  not  only  was  the  attendance  of  the  convention 
more  carefully  regulated  thereby,  but  the  spirit  of  the  convention 
was  improved.  Instead  of  coming  out  of  curiosity  to  hear  some 
particular  speaker  of  note,  the  delegates  came  to  each  session  of 


ORGANIZATION 


the  convention  convinced  that  such  session  would  be  worthy  of 
attention  and  that  every  speaker  would  have  a  message. 

The  convention  was  but  three  days  and  a  half  in  length.  It 
was  thought  by  many  that  this  plan  not  only  allowed  many  busy 
pastors  and  laymen  to  attend  all  the  sessions  who  otherwise  could 
not  do  so,  but  it  avoided  the  serious  difficulty  of  having  overtaxed 
the  nervous  energy  of  the  audience. 

The  program  had  been  planned  with  reference  to  three  funda- 
mental purposes :  the  study  of  Methodism's  world  field  with  its 
needs  and  opportunities;  the  presentation  of  tried  methods  of 
developing  a  strong  base  of  supplies  at  home;  the  deepening  of 
the  spiritual  life  through  unitedly  waiting  upon  God. 

More  than  the  usual  amount  of  time  was  given  to  the  speakers. 
While  the  program  was  compactly  built,  it  was  not  overcrowded. 
This  was  especially  noticeable  in  the  evening  sessions,  where  but 
two  speakers  were  announced  and  these  were  given  ample  time 
to  make  the  strongest  possible  presentation  of  their  themes. 

The  time  limit  for  each  speaker  was  closely  adhered  to.  An 
electric  signal  operated  from  the  side  of  the  platform  by  a  time- 
keeper, but  sounding  from  underneath  the  speaker's  stand,  gave 
a  warning  note  three  minutes  before  the  expiration  of  the  time 
limit  for  each  address,  and  again  at  the  close  of  the  period.  This 
expediting  of  the  sessions  through  a  careful  sense  of  time  limits 
was  greatly  appreciated  by  the  delegates. 

One  of  the  vital  features  was  the  convention  printed  matter  Printed 
which  was  prepared  with  reference  to  helping  the  delegates  to  ^^"^"^ 
give  the  most  to  the  convention  in  prayer,  interest,  and  constant 
attendance  on  sessions,  to  get  the  most  out  of  the  convention  in 
accurate  information  and  inspiration,  and  to  take  back  to  their 
respective  churches  the  convention  message  in  the  most  effec- 
tive way.  Among  the  most  helpful  pieces  of  printed  matter  was 
the  handbook,  a  forty-page  manual  containing  suggestions  to 
delegates  and  many  fundamental  facts  concerning  Methodist 
missions. 

The  music  of  the  convention  was  dignified,  helpful,  and  Music 
spiritually  uplifting.  A  special  edition  of  the  missionary  hymnal 
which  had  been  used  at  the  Jubilee  Convention  of  Young  Men's 
Christian  Associations  at  Boston  in  1901,  and  at  the  Student 
Volunteer  Convention  at  Toronto  in  1902,  was  printed  for  use 
at  Cleveland.     This  hymnal  included  many  of  the  noblest  mis- 


lO 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


Financial 
Session 


A  Fraternal 
Message 


sionary  hymns  of  Christendom.  Perhaps  the  most  stirring  hymn 
used  at  Cleveland  was  "All  Hail  the  Power  of  Jesus'  Name !" 
sung  to  the  stately  tune  of  Miles'  Lane.  A  precentor,  with  pianist 
and  cornetist  as  his  seconds,  led  the  congregational  singing. 
Aside  from  the  united  service  of  song,  the  only  musical  feature 
of  the  sessions  was  the  singing  by  the  Association  quartet.  The 
quartet  selections  were  exceedingly  well  chosen,  and  always 
carried  a  spiritual  message.  Applause  was  discouraged  and  no 
encores  were  responded  to. 

When  the  convention  was  first  proposed  it  was  decided  that 
there  should  be  a  financial  session  which  \vould  provide  a  whole- 
some outlet  for  the  convention  enthusiasm.  Months  in  advance 
prayer  was  enlisted  that  an  offering  worthy  of  the  Church  should 
be  made  at  Cleveland.  That  this  prayer  was  answered  is  evi- 
denced by  the  noteworthy  subscription  taken  at  the  Thursday 
evening  session,  when  over  three  hundred  thousand  dollars  was 
subscribed. 

The  convention  was  a  representative  gathering,  and  not  a  mass 
convention.  Of  those  present  there  were :  Bishops,  officers  of 
the  Missionary  Society,  assistant  and  field  secretaries  of  the  Mis- 
sionary Society,  missionaries,  General  Conference  officers,  general 
officers  of  the  Woman's  Foreign  Missionary  Society,  general 
officers  of  the  Woman's  Home  Missionary  Society,  general  officers 
of  the  City  Evangelization  Union,  general  officers  of  the  Epworth 
League,  editors,  educators.  Student  Campaigners,  members  of  the 
Missionary  Board  and  General  Missionary  Committee,  Conference 
Missionary  Society  officers,  presiding  elders,  district  missionary 
secretaries,  pastors,  laymen,  Sunday  school  superintendents.  Con- 
ference and  district  Epworth  League  officers.  There  was  a  total 
attendance  of  accredited  delegates  of  about  nineteen  hundred. 

Neither  of  the  two  men  who  were  invited  to  speak  at  the  con- 
vention as  fraternal  representatives  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  South,  was  able  to  appear.  However,  a  telegram  was 
received  from  one  of  these.  Dr.  Walter  R.  Lambuth,  missionary 
secretary  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  as  follows : 
"The  world  for  Christ !  Victory  is  ours  through  Him  who  loves 
us.  In  behalf  of  the  Board  of  Missions  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church,  South,  I  greet  you."  Moreover,  one  of  the  most 
deeply  interested  visitors  at  the  convention  was  Dr.  G.  B.  Winton, 
editor  of  the  Christian  Advocate,  the  chief  organ  of  the  Meth- 


ORGANIZATION  TT 

odist  Episcopal  Church,  South.  Dr.  Winton  before  his  election 
to  his  present  post  was  a  missionary  for  years  in  Mexico,  and 
previous  to  his  going  to  that  country  he  did  effective  service  as 
pastor  on  the  Pacific  coast.  His  editorial  references  to  the  con- 
vention have  been  exceedingly  cordial. 

Aside  from  the  platform  addresses  the  most  interesting  feature 
of  the  convention  was  the  Missionary  Exhibit.  This  was  placed 
in  the  chapel  of  the  First  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  and  was 
a  center  of  attraction. 

The  exhibit  was  purely  educational,  and  was  arranged  so  that  The  Exhibit 
the  delegates  might  become  more  familiar  with  the  history,  the 
organization,  and  the  present  movements  of  missionary  work  in 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  While  there  were  exhibits  of 
the  Missionary  Societies  of  sister  Churches,  the  one  great  aim  of 
the  exhibit  was  to  set  forth  the  work  of  our  own  Church  both 
in  the  foreign  and  in  the  home  field,  and  in  the  equally  important 
operations  required  for  the  education  of  the  home  Church  and 
the  development  of  its  missionary  activities. 

Special  attention  was  given  to  the  work  as  outlined  for  the 
young  people's  societies.  The  missionary  libraries,  the  mission 
study  class  books,  helps  from  missionary  committees,  systematic 
giving,  and  practical  missionary  illustrations,  maps,  and  charts 
were  displayed  so  as  best  to  show  the  present  plans  for  work 
among  young  people. 

Another  feature  of  the  exhibit  was  the  department  of  Meth- 
odist colleges  as  related  to  missions.  There  was  shown  in  this 
department  the  statistics  concerning  the  present  status  of  mission- 
ary work  as  carried  on  by  Methodist  institutions.  There  was 
given  the  number  of  Student  Volunteers,  the  number  of  students 
in  mission  study,  the  number  of  missionaries  who  had  gone  to 
the  field  from  the  several  institutions,  the  number  of  students 
engaged  in  the  summer  campaign,  the  amount  of  money  given 
to  the  support  of  missions,  and  the  number  of  colleges  wholly 
supporting  a  missionary. 

The  convention  gave  to  all  those  in  attendance  a  large  vision,  Convention 
and  to  many  of  the  delegates  there  came  an  enduring  life  pur- 
pose. The  outcome  of  this  vision  and  this  purpose  in  larger 
gifts  and  nobler  service  may  not  be  estimated.  Certain  note- 
worthy results  of  the  gathering  have  already  been  seen.  A 
great  impetus  has  been  given  to  the  Church  toward  the  fulfill- 


Resnlts 


12  THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 

ment  of  its  missionary  obligation  and  opportunity.  The  con- 
vention message,  told  from  himdreds  of  pulpits  and  through  the 
Methodist  press,  has  brought  inspiration  and  helpfulness  to 
thousands.  From  all  parts  of  the  country  the  word  comes  that 
increased  efforts  are  making  toward  a  larger  financial  support  of 
the  Missionary  Society.  The  General  Missionary  Committee 
meeting  at  Albany  in  November  was  characterized  by  the  same 
spirit  of  hopefulness  and  promise  which  was  so  conspicuously 
evident  at  Cleveland.  This  spirit  of  optimism  has  reached  the 
mission  fields  and  has  stimulated  the  workers  to  a  joyous  enthu- 
siasm. Methodism  now  knows  of  the  emergency,  the  Church  is 
face  to  face  with  the  great  open  doors,  and  advance  is  the  order 
of  the  day. 


THE    CONVENTION    PROGRAM 


Tuesday,  October  21 

AFTERNOON 

Presiding  Officer,  Bishop  Edward  G.  Andrews 

Hymn,  "Come,  Thou  Almighty  King" .  Congregation 
Scripture     Reading     (Isa.     Ix)     and 

Prayer Bishop  Cyrus  D.  Foss,  Philadelphia, 

Pa. 
Hymn,  "Jesus  Shall  Reign  Where'er 

the  Sun"' Congregation 

"The  Purpose  of  the  Convention". .  .Bishop    Edward    G.    Andrews,    New 

York 

Prayer  The  Rev.  C.  H.  Daniels,  D.D.,  Secre- 
tary American  Board  of  Commis- 
sioners for  Foreign  Missions,  Bos- 
ton, Mass. 

Hymn,  "He  Leadeth  Me" Congregation 

"The  Emergency" The  Rev.  A.  B.  Leonard,  LL.D.,  Cor- 
responding Secretary  Missionary 
Society,  New  York 

Solo,  "Blessed  Hope  of  the  Coming 
of  the  Lord" The  Rev.  P.  H.  Metcalf,  of  the  Asso- 
ciation Quartet 

"Methodist    Missions    of    the    Nine- 
teenth   Century" The  Rev.  J.  M.  Buckley.  D.D.,  Editor 

The  Christian  Advocate,  New  York 

Prayer The  Rev.  C  W.  Smith,  D.D.,  Editor 

Pittsburg  Christian  Advocate,  Pitts- 
burg, Pa. 

"Spiritual    Preparation    for    Mission- 
ary Service" The  Rev.  A.  H.  Tuttle,  D.D.,  Pastor 

Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  Sum- 
mit, N.  J. 

Benediction The  Rev.  E.  M.  Taylor,  D.D.,  Field 

Secretary  Missionary  Society 

EVENING 

Hymn,  "The  Son  of  God  Goes  Forth 

to  War" Congregation 

Prayer The    Rev.    J.    L.    Humphrey,    M.D.. 

Veteran  Missionary  to  India,  Little 

Falls,  N.  Y. 


14  THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 

Music,  "Come,  Spirit,  Come,  with 
Light  Divine" Association  Quartet — Mr.  Paul  Gil- 
bert, Assistant  Secretary  of  the 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association, 
Duluth,  Minn. ;  Rev.  P.  H.  Metcaif, 
Assistant  Pastor  Park  Congrega- 
tional Church,  Grand  Rapids,  Mich. ; 
Mr.  C.  M.  Keeler,  Des  Moines,  la. ; 
Mr.  E.  W.  Peck,  State  Secretary 
Minnesota  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association 

"Home  Allies  in  Our  Work  of  Evan- 
gelization"   H.     K.     Carroll,     LL.D.,     Assistant 

Corresponding    Secretary    Mission- 
ary Society 

Hymn,  "The  Morning  Light  is  Break- 
ing"   Congregation 

"Our  Opportunity"    Bishop  C.  H.  Fowler,  Buffalo,  N.  Y. 

Music,  "The  Treasures  of  Earth  are 

Not  Mine" Association  Quartet 

Benediction   Bishop   J.    M.   Thoburn,    Bishop   for 

Southern  Asia 


Wednesday,  October  22 
MORNING 

Hymn,  "AH  Hail  the  Power  of  Jesus' 

Name"    ,.  Congregation 

Scripture   Reading    (Psa.   Ixxii)    and 

Prayer The  Rev.  C.  W.  Drees,  D.D.,  Super- 
intendent Porto  Rico  Mission,  San 
Juan,  Porto  Rico 
Hymn,  '"From  Greenland's  Icy  Moun- 
tains"     Congregation 

"The  Words  are  Spirit  and  Life".... The  Rev.  W.  I.  Haven,  D.D.,  Secre- 
tary American  Bible  Society,  New 
York 
Music,  "Blessed  is  He  that  Readeth, 

and  They  that  Hear  the  Word". .  .Association   Quartet 
"The  Negro  a  Missionary  Investment, 

a  Missionary  Investor" The  Rev.  J.  W.  E.  Bowen,  D.D.,  Pro- 
fessor in  Gammon  Theological 
Seminary,  Atlanta,  Ga. 

Prayer  The  Rev.  H.  A.  Buttz,  D.D.,  Presi- 
dent Drew  Theological  Seminary, 
Madison,  N.  J. 

"Our  Foreign  Populations  and  How 
to  Reach  Them" The  Rev.  G.  B.  Addicks,  D.D.,  Presi- 
dent Central  Wesleyan  University, 
Warrenton,  Mo. 

Hymn,  "How  Firm  a  Foundation".  .Congregation 

"Our  City  Problem" The  Rev.  F.  M.-  North,  D.D.,  Secre- 
tary New  York  City  Church  Ex- 
tension and  Missionary  Society, 
New  York 


THE    CONVENTION    PROGRAM  1 5 

Prayer The    . Rev.     Hugh    Johnston,     D.D., 

Pastor    First    Methodist    Episcopal 
Church,  Baltimore,  Md. 

Hymn, "Onward,  Christian  Soldiers". Congregation 

"The  Open  Door  in  Hawaii  and  the 

Philippines"    The  Rev.  H.  C.  Stuntz,  D.D.,  Field 

Secretary  Missionary  Society,  Kan- 
sas City,  Mo. 

Doxology  Congregation 

Benediction The  Rev.  J.  R.  Day,  D.D.,  Chancellor 

Syracuse  University,  Syracuse,  N.Y. 

AFTERNOON 

Hymn,  "The  Morning  Light  is  Break- 
ing"  Congregation 

Prayer The  Rev.  H.  A.  Gobin,  D.D.,  Presi- 
dent De  Pauw  University,  Green- 
castle,  Ind. 

Hymn.  "All  Hail  the  Power  of  Jesus' 
Name"   Congregation 

"The  Open  Door  in  Latin  Countries". Bishop  C.  C.  McCabe,  Omaha,  Neb. 

Hymn,  "How  Firm  a  Foundation".  .Congregation 

"The  Open  Door  in  Eastern  Asia".  .Bishop  D.  H.  Moore,  Shanghai,  China 

Hymn,    "When    I    Survey  the   Won- 
drous Cross"   Congregation 

"The  Open  Door  in  Africa" Bishop    J.    C.    Hartzell,    Bishop    for 

Africa,   Funchal,   Madeira   Islands 

Hymn,    "Awake,    my    Soul,    Stretch 
Every  Nerve" Congregation 

Music,   "Hark,   Hark,   my  Soul,   An- 
gelic Songs  are  Swelling" Association  Quartet 

"The  Open  Door  in  Southern  Asia".  .Bishop   J.    M.    Thoburn,    Bishop   for 

Southern  Asia 

Prayer  and  Benediction Bishop  H.  W.  Warren,  Denver,  Colo. 

EVENING 

Hymn,  "Jesus  Shall  Reign  Where'er 

the  Sun"   Congregation 

Prayer Mr.   Luther  D.   Wishard,   Montclair, 

N.  J. 
Music,     "Peace,     Peace,     Wonderful 

Peace"  Association  Quartet 

Hymn,    "How    Sweet    the    Name    of 

Jesus  Sounds"   Congregation 

"Why  the  World  Should  be   Speedily 

Evangelized"  The  Rev.  E.  M.  Taylor,  D.D.,  Field 

Secretary  Missionary  Society,  Cam- 
bridge, ^lass. 
Music,    "I'm    a    Pilgrim    and    I'm    a 

Stranger"  Association  Quartet 

"What  Retrenchment  Means" Bishop  Cyrus  D.  Foss,  Philadelphia, 

Pa. 


l6  THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 

Doxology  Congregation 

Benediction The  Rev.  J.  F.  Crouch,  D.D.,  Pastor 

Mount  Pleasant  Avenue  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  Germantov^^n, 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 


Thursday,  October  23 
MORNING 

Hymn,  "Holy,  Holy,  Holy,  Lord  God 
Almighty"  Congregation 

Scripture   Reading    (John   xvii)    and  ^        ^  „    ,,,.  ,        ^^  ^^ 

Prayer The  Rev.   George  B.  Wmton,   D.D., 

Editor   Christian  Advocate,   Nash- 
ville, Tenn, 

Hymn,  "All  Hail  the  Power  of  Jesus' 
Name"    Congregation 

"It  Tendeth  to  Poverty"— "See  that  ,  ^  ^^    -r.      • 

ye  abound  in  this  grace  also" The  Rev.  J.  W.  Bashford,  D.D.,  Presi- 
dent Ohio  Wesleyan  University, 
Delaware,  O. 

Hymn.    "Eternal    Father.    Strong    to 

Save"    Congregation 

"What  the  Presiding  Elder  Can  Do". The  Rev.  W.  T.  Perrin,  D.D.,  Presid- 
ing Elder  Boston  District,  New 
England  Conference 

Prayer The  Rev.  C.  W.  Millard,  D.D..  Pre- 
siding Elder  New  York  District, 
New  York  Conference 

"What  the  District  Missionary  Secre- 
tary Can  Do" The  Rev.  W.  F.  Oldham,  D.D.,  As- 
sistant  Secretary  Missionary  Soci- 
ety, Chicago,  111. 

]\Iusic,  "Come  Unto  Me,  All  Ye  that 

Labor" Quartet 

"What  the  Pastor  Can  Do" The  Rev.  J.  O.  Wilson,  D.D.,  Pastor 

St.  Andrew's  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  New  York 

"What  the   Sunday   School   Superin- 
tendent Can  Do" Mr.  W.  W.  Cooper,  Kenosha,  Wis. 

"What  a  Local  Church  Has  Done".. The    Rev.   J.    W.    Magruder,    Pastor 

Chestnut  Street  Methodist  Episco- 
pal Church,  Portland,  Me. 

"The  Place  of  Prayer  in  Missionary 

Work"    Bishop     H.     W.     Warren,     Denver, 

Colo. 

Prayer Bishop  H.  W.  Warren 

.Benediction Bishop    John    H.     Vincent,     Zurich, 

Switzerland 


THE   CONVENTION    PROGRAM  ly 

i 

AFTERNOON 

I.    Grays'  Armory 

SECTION  CONFERENCE  FOR  PASTORS 

Presiding  Officer,     The    Rev.    E.    M.    Taylor,    D.D.,    Field    Secretary 
Missionary  Society 

2,    First  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 

section  conference  for  presiding  elders  and  district  missionary 

secretaries 

Presiding  OiHcer,    The  Rev.    F.   D.   Gamewell,   Ph.D.,   Field   Secretary 
Missionary  Society 

3.    Young  Men's  Christian  Association  Building 

SECTION   CONFERENCE  FOR   LAYMEN 

Presiding  Officer,  Mr.  Willis  W.  Cooper 
4.    Hollenden  Hotel 

section  conference  for  EDITORS 

Presiding  Officer,  Mr.  D.  D.  Thompson,  Editor  Northwestern  Christian 

Advocate 

5.    First  Methodist  Episcopal  Church — Pastor's  Study 

section  conference  for  college  presidents 

Presiding  Officer,  The  Rev.  J.  W.  Bashford,  D.D.,  President  Ohio 
Wesleyan  University 

6.    Epworth  Memorial  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 

SECTION  CONFERENCE  FOR  WORKERS  IN  EPWORTH  LEAGUES,   SUNDAY  SCHOOLS, 
AND    OTHER    YOUNG    PEOPLE'S    ORGANIZATIONS 

Presiding  Officer,  Mr.  Charles  V.  Vickrey,  Member  General  Missionary 
Committee  of  the  Epworth  League 

EVENING 

Hymn,  "All  Hail  the  Power  of  Jesus' 

Name"   Congregation 

Prayer Bishop  J.  M.  Thoburn 

Hymn,    "How    Sweet   the    Name   of 
Jesus  Sounds"  Congregation 

"Young  People  and  Missions" Mr.  S.  Earl  Taylor,  Field  Secretary 

for  Young  People's  Work,  Mission- 
ary Society 
Music,  "Remember  Now  Thy  Creator 

in  the  Days  of  Thy  Youth" Association  Quartet 

Hymn,  "Jesus  Shall  Reign  Where'er 

the  Sun"  Congregation 

2 


l8  THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 

"Reasons    Why    the    Home    Church 

Must  Go  Forward" Mr.    J.    R.    Mott.    General    Secretary 

World's  Student  Christian  Federa- 
tion, New  York 
Financial   Session,  under  supervision 

of The    Rev.    John    F.    Goucher,    D.D., 

President     Woman's     College     of 
Baltimore,   Baltimore,    Md. 

Benediction Bishop  J.  M.  Thoburn 


Friday,  October  24 

MORNING 

Hymp,  "My  Country,  'Tis  of  Thee" .  Congregation 
Scripture     Reading     (Psa.     ii)     and 

Prayer Mr.  E.  T.  Colton,  Student  Secretary 

International  Committee  of  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association 
Hymn,    "When   I    Survey   the   Won- 
drous Cross" Congregation 

"Beloved,  if  God  So  Loved  Us" The    Rev.    W.    F.    McDowell,    D.D., 

Corresponding  Secretary  Board  of 
Education,  New  York 
Music,  "There's  a  Beautiful  Land  on 
a  Far-away  Strand" Association  Quartet 

Report  of  the  Committee  on  Resolu- 
tions     The  Rev.  J.  M.  Buckley,  Chairman 

"The  Need  of  Missionary  Informa- 
tion in  the  Home  Church" The    Rev.    George    B.    Smyth,    D.D., 

Assistant  Secretary  Missionary  So- 
ciety, San  Francisco,  Cal. 
"The     Education     and     Training    of 
Young  People  in  Scriptural  Habits 

of  Giving" The  Rev.  C.  E.  Locke.  D.D.,  Pastor 

Delaware  Avenue  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church,  Buffalo,  N.  Y. 
Hymn,    "We    Give    Thee    but    Thine 

Own"    Congregation 

"What  Money  Means  for  Educational 

Work  in  the  Foreign  Fields" The    Rev.    F.    D.    Gamewell,    Ph.D., 

Field  Secretary  Missionary  Society, 
New  York 

"An  Appeal  from  China" Mr.  Chen  Wei  Cheng,  Instructor  of 

English,  Peking  University,  Peking, 
China 
Hymn,  "All  Hail  the  Power  of  Jesus' 

Name"    Congregation 

"The  Responsibility  Resting  Upon  the 

Delegates  to  this  Convention" Mr.  John  R.  Mott 

Prayer The  Rev.  W.  F.  McDowell,  D.D. 

Hymn,    "Take    My   Life   and   Let   it 

Be" Congregation 

Benediction The  Rev.  J.  W.  Bashford,  D.D. 


THE    COXVEXTIUN    PROGRAM  .  IQ 

AFTERNOON 
.    Grays'  Armory 

SECTION    CONFERENCE   FOR   THE   WOMAN'S   FOREIGN    MISSIONARY    SOCIETY 

Presiding  Officer,  Mrs.  Cyrus  D.  Foss 

Hymn,  "All  Hail  the  Power  of  Jesus' 

Name"    Congregation 

Scripture    Reading    (i    Pet.    i)    and 

Prayer    Bishop  Cyrus  D.  Foss 

Hymn,  "Blest  Be  the  Tie  that  Binds". Congregation 

"The  Woman's  Foreign  Missionary 
Society — Its  Equipment  and  Out- 
look"   Mrs.  J.  T.  Gracey,  Rochester,  N.  Y. 

Hymn,  "I  am  the  Shepherd  True". .  .Association  Quartet 
Address   Bishop  D.  H.  Moore 

2.    Grays*  Armory 

SECTION   CONFERENCE   FOR   THE   WOMAN's    HOME    MISSIONARY    SOCIETY 

Presiding  Officer,  ]Mrs.  Clinton  B.  Fisk 

Preliminary  Statement Chairman 

Hymn,  "My Faith  Looks  Up  to  Thee". Congregation 

Prayer Bishop  Cyrus  D.  Foss 

Report     of     General     Corresponding 

Secretary  Mrs.   Delia  Lathrop  Williams,  Dela- 
ware, O. 
"Value  of  Industrial  Training  in  Our 

Southern  Schools" Mrs.  W.  P.  Thirkield,  Cincinnati,  O. 

"Alaska,  Hawaii,  and  Porto  Rico".  ..Mrs.       May       Leonard       Woodruff, 

Bloomfield,   N.  J. 
"The     Deaconess    as     a     Missionary 

Worker"  The  Rev.  W.  F.  Oldham,  D.D. 

Hymn,   "America" Congregation 

Benediction The  Rev.  J.  W.  Bashford,  D.D. 

3.    First  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 

CONFERENCE   AND   ANNUAL    MEETING    N.\TIONAL   CITY   EVANGELIZATION   UNION 

Presiding  Officers.  Mr.  James  E.  Ingram,  Vice  President  of  the  National 
Union,  Baltimore,  Md.,  and  Mr.  George  F.  Washburn,  President  uf 
the  Boston  City  Missionary  and  Churcli  Extension  Society 

Devotional    Exercises 

Preliminary    Statement The  Rev.  Frank  Mason  North,  D.D., 

Corresponding  Secretary 

Addresses  Mr.  D.  D.  Thompson,  Editor  North- 
western Christian  Advocate,  Chi- 
cago, 111.  The  Rev.  A.  B.  Leon- 
ard, D.D.,  Corresponding  Secre- 
tary Missionary  Society.  Bishop 
J.    W.    Hamilton,    San    Francisco. 


20  THE   CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 

Discussion    

Election    of   Officers 

Benediction    The    Rev.    Joseph    F.    Berry,    D.D., 

Editor  The  Epworth  Herald 

EVENING 

Hymn,  "Jesus  Shall  Reign  Where'er 

the  Sun" Congregation 

Prayer The  Rev.  F.  M.  North,  D.D. 

Hymn,  "Coronation" Congregation 

Hymn,  "The  Church's  One  Founda- 
tion"   Congregation 

Report  of  Committee  on  Address  to 
the  Church  Bishop  H.  W.  Warren,  Chairman 

"Christ  Our  Living  Leader" Mr.     Robert     E.     Speer,     Secretary 

Board  of  Foreign  Missions,  Presby- 
terian Church  in  the  United  States 
of  America 

Closing  Address Bishop  J.  M.  Thoburn 

Music,    "Speed   Away,    Speed    Away, 
on  Thine  Errand  of  Light" Association  Quartet 

Benediction Bishop  E.  G.  Andrews 


THE    CONVENTION    ADDRESSES 


THE    PURPOSE   OF   THE   CONVENTION 

Bishop  Edward  G.  Andrews 

In  behalf  of  the  missionary  authorities  of  the  Church,  and,  I 
may  reverently  add,  in  the  name  of  Him  who  is  the  Saviour  of 
the  world  and  the  Lord  of  missions,  I  bid  you  welcome  to  this 
First  General  Missionary  Convention  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church. 

It  is  convened  because  of  great  missionary  successes;  because  The 
of  wonderfully  enlarged  missionar}^  opportunities  and  obligations ;  ^^^^'^^^^^ 
because  of  urgent  missionary  necessities.  It  is  not  an  official  Legislative 
assembly;  it  has  neither  legislative  nor  administrative  authority 
or  powers.  It  is  not  the  General  Conference,  composed  of  dele- 
gates from  the  ministry  and  the  churches,  which  quadrennially 
enacts  laws  and  regulations  for  missionary  organization  and 
missionary  activity.  It  is  not  the  General  Missionary  Committee, 
which,  under  the  order  of  the  General  Conference,  annually  meets 
in  order  to  distribute  among  multitudinous  and  very  needy  fields 
the  gifts  of  the  Church — very  large  gifts,  but  nevertheless  so 
scanty  that  the  week  of  its  work  is  commonly  overshadowed  by 
unspeakable  sadness.  It  is  not  the  Board  of  Managers  of  the 
Missionary  Society,  which  month  by  month  assembles  at  the 
offices  in  New  York  to  administer  the  appropriations  made  by  the 
General  Committee,  and  to  meet  other  emergencies  that  arise  in 
the  course  of  our  missionary  work. 

All  these  great  official  bodies  are  of  vital  importance  to  the  An  Assembly 
missionary  work  of  the  Church ;  but  this  Convention  neither  jjj  Missions 
legislates  nor  administers.  It  is  rather  an  assembly  of  men  and 
women  whom  the  Lord  of  missions  has  somewhat  impressed  with 
the  grandeur  of  his  purpose  through  Jesus  Christ  toward  a  lost 
world;  who  have  already  been  inspired  and  used  by  the  great 
Master  of  us  all  in  his  great  missionary  enterprise ;  who  have 
already  been  blessed  beyond  expectation  with  his  favor  and  sue- 


22  THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 

cess ;  but  who  feel,  and  deeply  feel,  that  a  larger  vision,  a  richer 
and  more  energetic  inspiration,  a  more  plenteous  enduement  of 
missionary  liberality,  sacrifice,  and  power  are  indispensable  for 
the  achievement  of  the  world-wide  tasks  set  before  them.  The 
tide  rises ;  but  how  far  from  full !  We  have  met,  therefore,  that 
we  may  together  study  more  fully  the  great  plan  and  love  and 
work  and  resources  of  Him  who  died  for  all  men,  but  who  now 
reigns  until  the  last  enemy  shall  be  put  under  his  feet.  We  come 
to  study  our  human  world,  its  vastness  and  its  variety ;  its  sins 
and  superstition  and  sufifering;  its  immeasurable  need  and  its 
great  possibilities.  We  come  to  study,  our  personal  resources  of 
every  kind,  temporal  and  spiritual,  and  the  obligations  thence 
resulting.  We  come  to  study  the  work  which  we  have  actually 
done,  sure  to  find  in  the  study  much  reason  for  thankfulness  and 
joy ;  but  also,  it  may  be,  many  reasons  for  self-condemnation 
and  humiliation.  We  have  come  for  these  purposes  of  consulta- 
tion, and,  with  these  consultations,  for  common  and  earnest 
prayer  to  Him  who  calls  us  to  this  task. 
A  Threefold '  The  work  of  the  Convention  will  therefore  be  threefold  :  First, 
thankfully  to  review  the  past ;  secondly,  to  study,  honestly  and 
faithfully,  present  missionary  conditions,  exigencies,  perils,  and 
hopes ;  thirdly,  to  find  preparation  for  ourselves  personally,  and 
for  the  Church  so  far  as  we  may  influence  it,  for  a  future  vastly 
transcending  the  present  or  the  past.  This  is  the  scheme  of  our 
assembly. 

Let  us  be  a  little  more  specific : 

First.  To  use  the  words  of  a  great  statesman  and  orator,  "The 
past  at  least  is  secure."  .We  have  closed  a  century  marvelous  in 
innumerable  ways — a  century  of  great  increase  in  the  world's 
population  and  wealth ;  a  century  of  astonishing  advancement  of 
science,  even  into  realms  not  before  dreamed  of;  a  century  of 
inventive  genius  and  skill  which  have  made  all  nature  tributary 
to  the  welfare  of  man  and  have  made  possible  larger  accomplish- 
ments in  every  field,  even  in  spiritual  fields ;  a  century  of  great 
growth  of  the  ideals  of  humanity,  of  liberty,  and  of  justice,  a 
growth  expressing  itself  in  new  forms  of  government,  in  new 
legislation,  and  in  humane  endeavors  such  as  have  not  been 
paralleled  in  all  previous  history.  But  a  century  which  is  mar- 
velous for  these  reasons  is  more  marvelous  for  its  missionary 
achievements.     We  must  take  note  of  this,  both  that  we  may 


Work 


THE    PURPOSE   OF    THE    CONVENTION  23 

render  due  homage  to  Him  who  is  tiue  and  faithful  to  his  word, 
and  that  we  may  be  encouraged  in  the  more  difficult  work  that 
lies  before  us. 

What,  then,  are  the  facts  ?  Contrast  the  beginning  and  the  end  A  Century's 
of  the  last  century.  Use  the  elaborate  and  reliable  tables  pre- 
pared by  Dr.  Dennis.  What  do  they  declare?  On  the  one  hand, 
perhaps  six  or  eight  missionary  societies ;  on  the  other,  more 
than  five  hundred,  half  of  them  immediately  working  in 
foreign  fields,  and  the  others  auxiliary  to  them.  On  the 
one  hand,  perhaps  one  hundred  ordained  ministers  labor- 
ing in  heathen  lands ;  on  the  other,  six  thousand  ordained 
missionaries  in  those  fields,  assisted  by  perhaps  twice  that 
number  of  unordained  missionaries,  physicians,  teachers, 
printers,  helpers  of  every  sort.  On  the  one  hand,  a  Church  so 
small  as  scarcely  to  be  counted ;  on  the  other,  a  Church  in  heathen 
lands  of  one  and  a  half  million  of  communicants,  with  a  Chris- 
tian population  of  three  times  that  number.  On  the  one  hand,  no 
single  native  helper  of  whom  we  know  aught ;  on  the  other, 
seventy  thousand  native  helpers,  of  whom  four  thousand  are 
ordained  ministers.  And  these  communicants  and  these,  helpers 
have  shown  the  soundness  of  their  faith  and  their  devotion  to 
Christ  by  abundant  labors  and  by  sufferings  which  parallel  the 
martyrdoms  in  Waldensian  valleys,  on  Scottish  hills,  and  at  the 
Smithfield  fires.  It  is  a  native  Church  that  is  competent,  doubt- 
less, even  if  our  aid  w^ere  withdrawn,  still  to  live  and  grow  until 
it  fills  the  lands  where  it  is  planted.  Yet  more  prophetic  are  the 
mission  schools  with  more  than  a  million  pupils,  one  third  of 
them  in  advanced  studies  preparing  for  wide  influence  in  society 
and  the  Church.  Consider  also  the  one  hundred  and  sixty 
mission  presses,  issuing  a  vast  volume  of  Christian  literature  in 
many  tongues.  The  century  began  with  perhaps  forty  versions, 
some  almost  obsolete,  of  the  Bible  open  for  one  fifth  of  the  race ; 
it  closed  with  four  hundred  and  fifty — a  gift  of  pentecostal 
tongues  to  four  fifths  of  the  race.  Finally,  contrast  the  income 
of  perhaps  $75,000  or  $80,000  in  all  missionary  treasuries  at  the 
beginning  of  the  century,  with  the  income  of  over  $19,000,000  at 
the  close  of  the  century,  with  perhaps  $2,000,000  contributed  by 
the  native  churches  themselves !  Such  is  the  progress  of  Chris- 
tian missions  during  the  last  century. 

And  what  besides  does  all  this  imply?     It  implies,  first,  in  the 


24  THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 

missionary  body  a  courage,  a  faith,  and  a  self-sacrifice  that  are 
matched  only  by  these  qualities  as  they  existed  in  the  early 
Church.  We  name  Livingstone  and  Mackay  and  Melville  Cox 
in  Africa.  We  name  Judson  and  Carey  and  our  noble  Parker  in 
India.  We  name  Morrison  and  his  colaborers  in  the  vast  empire 
of  China.  We  thank  God  that  the  spirit  of  the  fathers  and  of  the 
ancient  Church  survives  in  this  later  age,  and  in  missionary  saints 
and  heroes  innumerable. 

And  more  than  this  is  the  fact  that  the  home  Church,  beginning 
the  century  with  indifference  or  sHght  conviction  touching  its 
missionary  duty  and  missionary  possibilities,  has  been  gradually 
rising  to  the  high  thought  and  spirit  of  its  Lord.  Every  consid- 
erable body  of  Christian  men  thrills  with  the  conviction  that  it  is 
called  to  share  the  love  and  the  labors  of  the  world's  Redeemer. 
In  these  churches  our  young  people  also  are  being  trained  to  the 
love  and  service  of  missions,  in  the  Sunday  school,  in  the  Epworth 
League,  and  in  the  Student  Volunteer  Movement  for  Foreign 
Missions — a  movement  full  of  presage  for  higher  success  in  the 
future  that  lies  immediately  before  us.  Evidently  we  are  not 
fighting  a  losing  battle. 
A.  Missionary  Second.  Such  is  the  missionary  history  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
Present  tury.     But  it  introduces  us  to  a  missionary  present  of  vastly 

greater  moment.  The  new  century  opens  with  hopefulness,  but 
also  with  very  great  solicitudes  and  anxieties.  Some  there  are, 
indeed,  who  speak  of  a  "Crisis  in  Missions,"  and  some  of  a 
"Pause  in  Missions,"  as  if  retreat  might  follow — phrases  which 
I  cannot  accept  as  setting  forth  the  truth  in  the  case.  Neverthe- 
less, the  wise  men  of  Christendom  are  oppressed  by  the  new 
conditions  of  missionary  life  and  work  which  are  upon  us.  I 
cannot  stop  to  enumerate  these  conditions  at  length,  as  they  will 
be  spoken  of  by  others  after  me.  Let  me  remind  you,  however, 
first,  that  our  very  successes  trouble  us.  We  touched  heathenism, 
formerly,  at  a  few  points  of  a  small  circumference;  to-day  we 
touch  it  at  every  point  of  a  vast  circumference,  and  we  need  men 
and  money  and  spiritual  power  vastly  beyond  our  present 
resources  in  order  to  do  the  work  imperatively  called  for  by  these 
successes.  I  remind  you,  in  the  second  place,  that  God's  provi- 
dence now  calls  us  with  a  trumpet  tongue.  He  opens  the  nations ; 
he  brings  them  to  our  door.  Some  of  us  can  remember  when 
Japan  was  closed  utterly  to  Western  civilization,  when  Korea 


Kemains  to  be 
Done 


THE    PURPOSE   OF   THE    CONVENTION  2$ 

was  a  hermit  nation,  and  China  opened  only  at  the  five  treaty 
ports ;  when  in  India  the  presence  of  the  Gospel  was  resisted  both 
by  an  almost  unbroken  Hinduism  and  also  by  British  officialism ; 
when  Africa  was  a  dark  and  unexplored  continent ;  when  no 
Bible  could  be  sold  in  Rome,  and  the  Inquisition  still  lingered  in 
Spain ;  when  Central  and  South  America  were  forbidden  ground 
for  the  evangelical  faith.  Such  things  we  remember.  But  how 
changed !  The  open  world  for  which  we  prayed  has  come.  The 
Church  may  enter  freely  all  continents  and  empires  and  fill  them 
with  the  glad  tidings  of  salvation  through  Jesus  Christ ! 

Then,  let  it  be  remembered  that,  though  the  Church  has  done  what 
great  things  for  the  kingdom,  there  confront  it  still  enormous  and 
almost  undiminished  forces  of  evil  in  all  heathen  lands.  Consoli- 
dated systems  of  superstition  and  idolatry,  rooted  deeply  in  the 
hereditary  thoughts,  affections,  and  habits  of  great  people,  cannot 
be  overthrown  save  by  labors,  heroisms,  and  sacrifices  such  as  the 
Church  has  never  yet  as  a  whole  exhibited.  Its  victories,  though 
real  and  prophetic,  are  but  slight  beginnings.  We  have  had  our 
Fort  Donelsons  and  Fort  Henrys,  and  our  skirmishes  in  West 
Virginia;  but  there  are  before  us  New  Orleans  and  Vicksburg 
and  Gettysburg  and  Chickamauga  and  the  battles  of  the  Wilder- 
ness.   The  great  things  yet  remain  to  be  done. 

In  addition  to  these  gigantic  systems  of  false  religions  con- 
fronting us,  we  must  consider  the  godless  actions  of  so-called 
Christian  nations  in  the  presence  of  heathenism,  their  indefensible 
w^ars,  their  injustice  and  cruelty,  their  territorial  greed.  We 
must  consider  the  sins  and  vices  of  men  who  go  from  Christian 
lands,  representatives  of  Christianity,  as  heathen  people  must  of 
necessity  hold  them.  Here  are  obstacles  to  our  work  which  may 
well  awaken  apprehension  and  indignation. 

When  we  turn  to  study  our  home  conditions  we  are  oppressed  The  Church's 
by  the  weakness  of  the  missionary  spirit  in  the  churches.  Take 
into  account  this:  the  wealth  of  the  United  States,  it  is  said, 
doubled  from  1800  to  1850;  doubled  again  in  1875;  doubled 
again  in  1890;  doubled  again  by  the  year  1900;  and  of  all  this 
vast  increase  of  wealth  a  fair  proportion  must  be  in  the  hands  of 
the  Christian  Church  to-day.  And  yet,  if  we  take  the  Methodist 
Church  as  a  fair  instance,  we  find  that  at  the  end  of  the  first 
twenty  years  of  our  missionary  work  we  gave  an  average  of 
nineteen  cents  a  member  for  missions ;    then  for  another  twenty 


Gifts 


26  THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 

years  we  gave  twenty-six  cents,  then  for  similar  periods,  thirty- 
seven  cents,  and  forty-six  cents.  We  do  not  forget  the  gifts 
of  the  Church  in  other  directions,  but  please  to  remember  that 
when  you  multiply  wealth  largely  you  have  easily  provided  com- 
fortable conditions  of  life,  and  that  then  a  vast  surplus  is  at  your 
command  for  high  and  great  purposes.  And,  alas  for  it!  what 
have  we  been  doing?  I  will  not  dwell  upon  it.  Last  fall  the 
General  Missionary  Committee  met,  and,  notwithstanding  our 
marvelous  prosperity,  was  obliged  to  strike  ofif  eight  per  cent 
from  our  appropriations  to  all  fields — so  insufficient  were  our 
gifts. 

Take  yet  another  fact:  I  think  that  for  fifteen  years  past  we 
have  not  reared  one  considerable  building  in  all  India  by  any 
gifts  through  our  Missionary  Society ;  and  throughout  all  the 
world  the  call  for  accommodations  in  which  Christian  work  is  to 
be  done  is  scarcely  begun  to  be  met  by  the  gifts  of  the  Church. 
Such  considerations  as  these  fill  us  with  grave  anxieties.  How, 
with  such  a  defective  Church,  can  the  world  be  saved  ?  How  can 
the  Church  itself  be  saved  ? 

We  are  here  to-day  to  confront  these  solemn  questions,  these 
tremendous  obligations,  and  to  prepare  ourselves,  and,  so  far  as 
we  may,  to  prepare  the  Church  for  conquests  and  consecrations 
more  truly  proportioned  to  our  resources,  to  the  world's  need,  to 
the  purpose  of  our  Lord. 

Third.     This  brings  me  now  to  a  very  brief  statement  of  the 
things  we  here  seek. 
A  Vision  In  the  first  place,  we  and  the  whole  Church  need  a  clear  appre- 

hension, an  inspiring  vision  of  Christ's  unwavering  purpose  in 
behalf  of  this  world.  We  need  to  understand,  as  we  have  not  yet 
understood,  that  he  has  taken  it  upon  his  heart  and  in  his  hands 
to  redeem  all  this  race  of  which  we  are  a  part ;  that  he  will  not 
cease  till  he  has  set  judgment  in  the  earth  :  that  all  the  movements 
of  his  providence  as  well  as  all  the  inspirations  of  his  grace  are 
ordered  that  this  world  might  be  filled  with  the  knowledge  of  him- 
self and  of  his  gracious  salvation;  and  that  he  summons  every 
Christian  man  and  Christian  woman  to  take  part  with  him  in  this 
vast  enterprise.  This  divine  plan  we  accept  as  part  of  our  creed ; 
we  affirm  and  reaffirm  it ;  but  alas  for  the  dullness  and  ineffective- 
ness of  our  apprehension ! 

In  the  next  place,  we  and  our  Church  ought  to  attain  a  clearer 


Needed 


THE    PURPOSE    OF    THE    CONVENTION  2" 

* 

and  more  impressive  understanding  of  the  actual  condition  of  The  World's 
this  world  and  of  its  missionary  needs.  We  ought  to  realize  that 
the  only  really  valuable  gift  we  can  bestow  upon  our  fellow-men 
who  are  sunk  in  the  darkness  of  heathenism  and  in  the  barbarities 
of  savage  life,  the  one  ennobling  thing  we  can  give  them,  is  not 
our  commerce,  is  not  our  modern  science  and  culture,  is  not  our 
ideal  of  civil  liberty  and  free  government.  These  are  futile  gifts 
unless  some  higher  thing  be  given.  What  the  world  needs  is  that 
inward  life  of  God  in  the  soul  which,  transforming  human  nature, 
makes  it  fit  for  all  achievements  in  every  realm  of  thought  and  of 
action.  We  must  feel  that  a  great  and  suffering  world  stands  at 
our  door  seeking  help,  and  al)ove  all  things  Christian  help.  The 
modern  missionary  movement  is,  in  part,  the  answer  to  this  ap- 
peal. We  ought  to  be  thoroughly  accordant  with,  and  partners 
in,  this  new  life  of  Christianity.  My  brethren,  we  have  some  little 
notion  of  what  is  going  on  throughout  the  heathen  world  under 
Christian  missionary  influences.  But  how  narrow  is  the  informa- 
tion of  ourselves  and  of  the  Church  at  large  concerning  the  fields, 
the  workers,  and  the  work !  How  scanty  the  knowledge,  even  of 
intelligent  men,  touching  the  aggressions  of  Christianity  upon 
heathenism !  Can  you  tell  me  how  many  of  the  influential  mem- 
bers so  use  Church  periodicals  that  they  are  even  tolerably 
informed  upon  these  great  topics  ?  W^e  are  eager  to  learn  political 
news,  eager  to  study  financial  movements.  Who  are  eager  to 
enter  into  the  divine  movement  for  the  redemption  of  humanity? 

This  Convention,  therefore,  aims  to  bring  ourselves  into  a  clear 
understanding  of  the  divine  movement  among  men,  and  thereby 
to  lead  our  people  everywhere  into  such  a  study  of  Christianity 
and  of  Christian  missions  as  shall  result  in  their  hearty  coopera- 
tion therewith. 

But,  in  the  next  place,  knowledge  concerning  Christ's  pur-  The  Mind  of 
poses,  or  the  world's  need  and  possibility,  is  not  of  itself  sufficient. 
We  need,  and  the  Church  needs,  the  mind  of  Christ.  We  must 
pass  from  the  region  of  mere  knowledge  and  thought  into  the 
experience  of  that  divine  love  which  opened  the  skies  and  brought 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  from  the  excellent  glory  of  heaven  down 
to  the  humiliations  and  labors  and  pain  of  his  earthly  career,  that 
he  might  lift  us  up  to  God.  My  brother,  do  you  believe  it  pos- 
sible for  a  divine  grace  so  to  move  upon  the  profound  depths  of 
our  nature  that  the  selfishness  natural  to  us  shall  be  suppressed 


Christ 


28  THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 

and  banished,  and  that  the  mighty  love  of  Christ  toward  men 
shall  occupy  and  inspire  us?  Is  it  possible  that  you  and  I  can 
pass  into  the  spiritual  condition  which  is  represented  by  the  great 
apostle  to  the  Gentiles,  who  said:  "I  say  the  truth  in  Christ,  I 
lie  not,  my  conscience  also  bearing  me  witness  in  the  Holy  Ghost, 
that  I  have  great  heaviness  and  continual  sorrow  in  my  heart. 
For  I  could  wish  that  myself  were  accursed  from  Christ  for  my 
brethren,  my  kinsmen  according  to  the  flesh"  ?  Is  it  possible  that 
this  great  missionary  spirit  may  come  to  the  Church,  come  to  you 
and  to  me,  and  thus  fit  us  for  that  great  achievement  to  which  the 
Master  summons  us  ?  Only  by  such  love  can  we  conquer. 
An  Exalted  Finally,  shall  we  here  find  the  exalted  faith  that  ventures  all 

^^^^^  things,   that   undertakes   great   tasks,    that   dares    difficulty   and 

danger  and  sacrifice  and  death  itself?  We  have  come  not  to 
deliberate  concerning  missionary  policies  at  large,  not  to  order 
the  legislation  of  the  Church  for  missionary  ends.  We  have  come 
primarily  that  we,  and  the  Church  through  us,  may  become 
thoroughly  imbued  with  the  missionary  spirit,  and  able  to  enter 
into  these  larger  enterprises  without  which  the  Gospel  will  not 
be  effectual  in  the  world. 

And  may  the  great  Head  of  the  Church,  in  this  hour  and  hence- 
forth through  the  coming  days  of  our  meeting,  be  with  us,  en- 
abling us  to  live  in  continual  prayerfulness ;  enabling  us  to 
banish,  as  far  as  may  be,  all  other  considerations  but  those  con- 
nected with  this  great  enterprise ;  enabling  us  to  forget  our  own 
burdened  and  indebted  churches  at  home  that  we  may  enter  on 
the  larger  thought  of  a  world  needing  Christ;  enabling  us  to 
waive  aside  questions  of  national  policy  and  of  Church  consti- 
tution and  general  work,  that  we  may  study  a  world  needing  the 
Gospel,  a  Christ  commissioning  us  to  it,  and  a  grace  that  can 
make  us  equal  to  our  Christlike  task.  And  thus  this  Convention, 
so  happily  inaugurated,  will  result  in  an  enlargement  of  spiritual 
life  and  power  such  as  perhaps  we  have  never  expected. 


THE   EMERGENCY  29 

THE   EMERGENCY 

The  Rev.    A.   B.   Leonard,  LL.D. 

The  word  "emergency"  is  defined  as  "a  sudden  or  unexpected  what  an 
occurrence  or  condition  calling  for  immediate  action ;  a  perplex-  Emergency  is 
ing  or  pressing  combination  of  circumstances."  To  me  the  emer- 
gency is  not  "unexpected ;"  indeed,  we  have  seen  the  conditions 
out  of  which  it  has  arisen  slowly  gathering  for  years,  but  the 
situation  has  suddenly  become  so  serious  as  to  demand  "immediate 
action."  That  it  is  "perplexing"  and  "pressing"  no  one  who  is 
even  partially  informed  will  doubt  for  a  moment. 

An  emergency  may  arise  either  in  defeat  or  in  victory.  A 
man  may  find  himself  so  embarrassed  as  to  be  unable  to  carry  on 
his  business,  and  in  order  to  save  anything  from  the  wreck  be 
compelled  to  declare  himself  a  bankrupt.  Or,  he  may  be  so  for- 
tunate as  to  be  able  to  secure  the  money  necessary  to  tide  him 
over  the  crisis  and  land  him  not  only  beyond  danger,  but  w'here 
great  success  is  assured.  In  either  case  an  important  emergency 
is  met  and  the  best  possible  results  achieved. 

When  Moscow  was  set  on  fire  in  1812  Napoleon's  generals 
were  not  able  to  meet  the  emergency,  and  the  result  was  that 
thousands  of  French  soldiers,  driven  from  the  city,  were  wrapped 
in  winding  sheets  of  snow  upon  the  steppes  of  Russia.  Welling- 
ton was  equal  to  the  emergency  at  Waterloo,  and  won  one  of  the 
most  important  victories  of  military  annals,  and  for  England  a 
prestige  among  the  nations  of  Europe  which  she  has  held  to  this 
day.  General  Lee  was  equal  to  the  emergency  which  confronted 
him  at  Gettysburg  in  July,  1863,  and  succeeded  in  getting  his 
broken  and  defeated  army  off  the  field  of  carnage  and  across  the 
Potomac.  General  Meade  was  not  equal  to  the  emergency.  A  few 
thousand  fresh  troops  would  have  enabled  him  to  pursue  Lee's 
army,  capture  it,  and  so  to  have  ended  the  war  that  dragged  on 
for  two  more  bloody  years. 

Our  emergency  is  not  the  result  of  defeat,  but  of  glorious  vie-   The 

tory.     We  have  never  abandoned  a  field  where  our  banner  has  Embarrass- 

•'  ment  of 

been  unfurled.     No  missionary  society  on  the  planet  can  show   Success 

greater  success  in  the  same  period  than  ours.     In  the  United 

States  this  society  has  pioneered  the  way  from  the  Mississippi  to 

the  Pacific,  and  from  Canada  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  and  the  Rio 


30  THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 

Grande,  making  possible  the  splendid  results  that  have  been 
achieved,  while  in  Mexico,  South  America,  Europe,  southern 
and  eastern  Asia,  and  Africa  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  has 
been  successfully  founded.  But  notwithstanding  our  great  suc- 
cess the  emergency  now  upon  us,  at  home  and  abroad,  is  fraught 
with  imminent  peril.  If  we  fail  to  meet  it  far-reaching  disaster 
will  certainly  ensue.  Not  that  our  missions  will  be  destroyed 
utterly,  but  that  important  posts  now  held  will  of  necessity  be 
abandoned,  and  aggressiveness  greatly  paralyzed.  I  beg  you 
not  to  suppose  that  a  false  alarm  is  being  sounded  to  frighten 
our  Church  into  a  spasm  of  generous  giving.  The  crisis  is  here. 
It  must  be  met.  And  beyond  this  crisis  there  must  be  enlarged 
and  sustained  benevolent,  self-sacrificing  giving  of  life  and 
money,  to  achieve  that  rapid  evangelization  of  the  world  possible 
within  the  first  half  of  the  present  century. 
Results  at  Clearly  to  understand  the  present  situation,  a  glance  at  what 

^°™®  has  already  been  accomplished  seems  to  be  necessary.     In  this 

survey  the  home  field  cannot  be  overlooked.  We  are  now  sustain- 
ing missionary  work  in  sixty-six  English-speaking  Annual 
Conferences  and  nine  Mission  Conferences  and  Missions.  There 
are  sixteen  foreign-speaking  Annual  Conferences.  Our  mis- 
sionaries are  preaching  the  Gospel  every  week  in  fourteen 
languages,  as  follows :  English,  German,  Swedish,  Norwegian, 
Danish,  Finnish,  French,  Spanish,  Bohemian,  Hungarian, 
Italian,  Portuguese,  Chinese,  and  Japanese,  besides  several 
American  Indian  dialects.  In  our  domestic  field  we  have  about 
4,000  missionaries.  While  there  is  great  need  of  more  money 
for  our  missions  in  the  rural  districts,  our  greatest  need  is  in  our 
cities.  They  are  storm  centers  now,  and  unless  properly  cared 
for  may  become  centers  of  anarchy  and  revolution  in  the  not 
distant  future.  Here  the  emergency  is  acute,  and  must  be  met 
if  Protestant  Christianity  is  to  continue  its  supremacy.  The 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  must  do  its  full  share  in  protecting 
America  against  infidelity,  materialism,  agnosticism,  atheism, 
and  Romanism.  Let  no  one  underestimate  our  peril  from  these 
sources.  Here,  however,  our  vantage  ground  is  all  that  we  can 
desire.  With  our  more  than  16,000  ministers,  nearly  3,000,000 
members,  all  in  close  touch  with  the  evils  to  be  combated,  there 
ought  to  be  no  doubt  of  continued  and  triumphant  success.  But 
in  order  to  make  this  success  certain  it  is  absolutelv  necessarv 


THE    EMERGENCY  3T 

that  larger  sums  of  money  shall  be  at  tiie  disposal  of  the  Mission- 
ary Society. 

Turning  to  our  great  foreign  field,  it  may  be  said  that  few  of  Extent  of  Our 
our  people  have  any  conception  of  its  vast  extent.  When  Dr.  Missions 
Durbin  became  corresponding  secretary  in  1852,  just  half  a 
century  ago,  our  foreign  missions  were  Liberia,  Buenos  Ayres 
in  South  America,  Foochow  in  China  (where  at  the  date  named 
there  was  not  a  convert),  and  a  beginning  in  Germany.  The 
entire  membership  in  our  foreign  work  reported  in  the  year 
named  was  1,320.  Now  we  are  strongly  intrenched  in  many 
countries,  and  our  entire  foreign  membership  is  more  than 
208,000.    To  be  more  specific,  we  have  in 

Annual  Mission         ,,•    ■  ■.,      ,       ,  . 

Conferences    Conferences     ^I-^^'O"^     Membership 

Africa i  2  .  .  4,000 

South  America 2  .  .  . .  5,000 

China 221  25,000 

Southern  Asia,   including   the  Philip- 
pine Islands 6  I  ,.  100,000 

Bulgaria ..  i  ..  300 

Italy. I  ..  ..  2,354 

Mexico I  ..  ..  5-549 

Japan i  I  ..  6,000 

Korea . .  . .  i  4,000 

Germany  and  Switzerland 3  . .  . .  28,000 

Scandinavia 2  i  ..  27,000 

Finland,  in  the  empire  of  Russia.  ...  . .  . .  i  1,000 

Total 19  8  3  208,203 

For  about  fifteen  years  we  have  had  but  little  money  to  apply  Need  for 
to  the  acquisition  of  property,  or  to  repair  property  already  jja^pment 
owned.  The  result  is  that  our  work  is  inadequately  housed,  and 
in  many  instances  poorly  equipped.  If  we  are  to  continue 
aggressive  movements  we  need  and  should  have,  for  home  and 
foreign  work,  for  support  of  missionaries,  needed  repair,  churches 
and  chapels,  parsonages,  hospital  buildings,  orphanages,  school- 
houses,  and  printmg  establishments,  estimated  on  a  very 
conservative  basis,  $1,000,000,  as  follows: 

Christian  and  Nominally  Christian  Countries. 

Home  Missions S6o,ooo 

South  America  $40,000 

Western  South  America 30,000 

Total  for  South  America 70,000 

Mexico 50,000 

Bulgaria 10,000 

Italy 75.000 

Germany  and  Switzerland fm.ooo 


32  THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 

Scandinavia. •  •    $50,000 

Finland 10,000 

Total  for  Christian  and  nominally  Christian  countries $385,000 

Pagan  Countries. 

Liberia $20,000 

East  Central  Africa 22,000 

West  Central  Africa 18,000 

Total  for  Africa $60,000 

Foochow $30,000 

Hinghua • • 15,000 

Central  China 50,000 

West  China 20,000 

North  China 50,000 

Total  for  China 165,000 

North  India $30,000 

Northwest  India 30,000 

Bombay 50,000 

South  India 50,000 

Bengal 25,000 

Burma 25,000 

Malaysia 30,000 

Philippine  Islands 50,000 

Total  for  Southern  Asia » 290,000 

Japan $40,000 

South  Japan 30,000 

Total  for  Japan 70,000 

Korea 30,000 

Total  for  pagan  countries $615,000 

Total  for  Christian  and  nominally  Christian  countries 385,000 

Grand  total $1,000,000 

Need  for  It  now  remains  for  me  to  call  your  attention  to  that  feature  of 

m""/"'^*'^'  ^^^^  emergency  we  must  meet  which  imperatively  demands  the 
presence  on  the  field  of  a  largely  increased  force  of  missionaries. 
For  many  years  we  have  been  compelled  to  keep  the  missionary 
force  at  the  minimum,  sending  out  barely  a  sufficient  number  to 
make  good  losses  sustained  by  recalls,  health  failures,  and  deaths. 
The  result  is  that  many  of  our  missions  are  undermanned,  and  are 
approaching  the  time  when  by  reason  of  age  and  infirmity  the 
number  will  be  greatly  decreased.  Unless  reinforcements  are 
sent  out  promptly  there  will  soon  be  a  break  in  our  ranks  that 
will  be  disastrous.  New  men  should  be  now  on  the  ground 
becoming  acclimated  and  learning  the  languages  of  the  people, 
that  they  may  be  prepared  when  the  responsibility  of  leadership 
devolves  upon  them.  While  ovtr  policy  is  to  depend  largely  upon 
native  preachers  for  evangelistic  work,  we  must  have  competent 


ment 


THE    EMERGENCY 


33 


missionaries  to  instruct  and  lead  the  natives,  as  also  to  properly 
provide  for  our  schools  of  the  higher  grades.  The  men  now  at 
the  front  are  overburdened,  and  unless  relief  is  quickly  afforded 
some  of  them  will  be  compelled  to  surrender  and  return  home. 
Do  you  ask  how  many  missionaries  are  imperatively  needed?  I 
answer,  that  on  most  of  the  fields  the  number  should  be  at  once 
doubled.  This  is  true  of  southern  Asia,  including  the  Philippine 
Islands ;  eastern  Asia,  including  China,  Japan,  and  Korea ;  and 
Africa,  while  the  needs  of  South  America,  Mexico,  and  Italy  are 
scarcely  less  emergent. 

I  am  deeply  impressed  with  the  fact  that  neither  our  preachers 
nor  our  people  are  at  all  aware  of  the  magnitude  of  the  emergency 
that  is  upon  us,  or  of  the  consequences  that  will  follow  if  that 
emergency  is  not  promptly  met.  I  am  saying  nothing  for 
rhetorical  effect.  I  am  talking  to  you  out  of  a  full  knowledge  of 
the  situation,  and  out  of  a  heart  oppressed  and  burdened  beyond 
what  mere  words  can  express.  That  our  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  is  able  promptly  to  furnish  the  missionaries  and  the 
money,  I  have  no  doubt.  And  I  am  not  without  hope.  The  can- 
didates, men  and  women,  are  waiting.  Only  the  money  is  want- 
ing. The  $1,000,000  for  which  I  plead  could  be  secured  in  one 
day  if  our  preachers  and  people  were  fully  aroused.  Only  about 
thirty-three  cents  a  member  is  needed. 

Will  not  this  Convention  appoint  a  committee  that  shall  report 
a  plan  for  adoption  by  which  the  money  can  be  secured?  A  call 
by  this  great  Convention,  made  up  of  ministers  an(/  laymen,  will 
be  heard  throughout  all  our  borders,  and  our  people  will  respond. 
The  question  has  often  been  asked,  What  is  the  Convention  for? 
The  answer  is,  to  provide  ways  and  means  for  the  more  rapid 
evangelization  of  the  world.  We  cannot  justify  oar  coming 
together  without  planning  to  solve  the  problem  that  confronts  us. 
God  in  his  providence  has  prepared  the  way.  Isaiah's  prophecy 
has  been  fulfilled :  "Every  valley  shall  be  exalted,  and  every 
mountain  and  hill  shall  be  made  low:  and  the  crooked  shall  be 
made  straight,  and  the  rough  places  plain :  And  the  glory  of  the 
Lord  shall  be  revealed,  and  all  flesh  shall  see  it  together:  for  the 
mouth  of  the  Lord  hath  spoken  it." 

The  world  is  explored  ;  we  know  where  its  peoples  dwell.  The 
means  for  rapid  transit  by  land  and  sea  are  provided.  Steamships 
sail  all  the  seas,  while  600,000  miles  of  railroad  thread  the  con- 


A  Real 
Emergency 


A  World 
Ready  for 
Occupation 


34  THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 

tiiieiits.  A  journey  around  the  world  can  be  made  in  fifty  days, 
and  soon  the  time  will  be  reduced  to  thirty  days.  Even  now,  any 
uncivilized  people  on  the  face  of  the  earth  can  be  reached  from 
some  Christian  country  within  the  short  space  of  thirty  days. 
The  press  diffuses  information  more  rapidly  and  widely  than  ever 
before.  The  Bible  is  now  printed  in  the  languages  of  1,200,000,- 
000  people.  The  hand  press  of  a  century  ago  that  could  turn  off 
1,000  impressions  an  hour  is  supplanted  by  the  steam-power  press 
that  prints,  binds,  and  folds  100,000  impressions  an  hour.  A 
network  of  telegraph  lines  covers  all  countries,  while  170,000 
miles  of  submarine  cable  connects  all  the  continents  and  many  of 
the  larger  islands  of  the  globe.  In  one  thing  the  human  race  has 
practically  attained  perfection,  namely,  in  the  transmission  of 
news,  for  we  now  transmit  news  around  the  world  instanta- 
neously. It  would  seem  that  in  the  not  distant  future  the 
prophetic  vision  may  be  realized :  "And  it  shall  come  to  pass  in 
the  last  days,  that  the  mountain  of  the  Lord's  house  shall  be 
established  in  the  top  of  the  mountains,  and  shall  be  exalted 
above  the  hills ;  and  all  nations  shall  flow  unto  it.  And  many 
people  shall  go  and  say,  Come  ye,  and  let  us  go  up  to  the  mountain 
of  the  Lord,  to  the  house  of  the  God  of  Jacob ;  and  he  will  teach 
us  of  his  ways,  and  we  will  walk  in  his  paths :  for  out  of  Zion  shall 
go  forth  the  law,  and  the  word  of  the  Lord  from  Jerusalem. 
And  he  shall  judge  among  the  nations,  and  shall  rebuke  many 
people:  and  they  shall  beat  their  swords  into  plowshares,  and 
their  spears  into  pruning-hooks :  nation  shall  not  lift  up  sword 
against  nation,  neither  shall  they  learn  war  any  more."  (Isa. 
ii,  2-4.) 

Our  opportunity  is  great.  Our  ability  is  great.  Our  responsi- 
bility is  great.  And  our  success,  under  the  blessing  of  God,  will 
be  correspondingly  great,  if  we  prove  to  be  equal  to  the  times  in 
which  we  live. 


NINETEENTH    CENTURY    METHODIST    MISSIONS  35 


METHODIST   MISSIONS   OF   THE   NINE- 
TEENTH   CENTURY 

The   Rev.    J.    ]\I.    Buckley,    D.D. 

It  has  been  decided  by  the  highest  court  that  what  a  man  does 
by  proxy  he  does  himself.  And  as  all  the  mighty  works  which  have 
been  described  by  the  preceding  speaker  have  been  accomplished 
by  the  wise  expenditure  of  the  gifts  of  the  Church,  instead  of 
saying,  "Mr.  President  and  Fellow  Citizens,"  I  prefer  to  say, 
"Mr.  President  and  Fellow  Missionaries." 

The  topic  excludes  the  century  before  the  last,  and  this  cen-  Methodist 
tury;  it  is  "Methodist  Missions  of  the  Nineteenth  Century."  It  SstTn*°* 
may  reasonably  be  inferred  that  such  a  topic  could  be  best  treated  Missions 
by  emphasizing  the  least  known,  if  important,  without  scorning 
the  familiar,  if  pertinent.  It  is  the  opinion  of  some  that  enthu- 
siasm— permanent,  well-sustained  enthusiasm — is  most  efficiently 
promoted  by  concentration  of  the  mind  upon  one's  own  country, 
party,  or  ecclesiastical  communion.  But  there  are  those  who 
think  that  on  the  very  threshold  of  the  contemplation  of  one's 
responsibility  and  the  enumeration  of  his  achievements  it  might 
be  prudent  to  pause  and  reflect  for  a  moment  that  Methodism  is 
not  all  of  Christianity ;  that  the  salvation  of  the  world  does  not 
depend  exclusively  upon  what  Methodists  may  do,  nor  is  its 
damnation  certain  to  follow  if  they  neglect  what  they  ought  to  do. 
While  "Methodist  Missions"  is  a  noble  theme,  "Christian  Mis- 
sions" is  the  more  comprehensive  phrase.  Art  is  long,  but  it  is 
not  so  long,  so  broad,  so  deep,  or  so  high  as  the  plans  of  God ; 
and  He  who  said  of  his  Son,  "He  shall  see  of  the  travail  of  his  soul 
and  shall  be  satisfied,"  certainly  justifies  us  in  the  opinion  that, 
while  we  are  required  to  do  all  that  we  can  do,  glorious  results 
are  sure.  The  vital  question  for  us  is  to  consider  whether  we 
shall  have  a  part  in  producing  them.  For  if  there  be  woe  unto 
the  man  by  whom  ofifenses  come  there  must  be  joy  everlasting 
to  those  who  antidote  ofifenses  and  introduce  spiritual  graces. 

It  is  said  by  some  that  from  the  first  Methodism  was  a  mission-  John  Wesley 
ary  society.    Those  who  say  this  fail  to  discriminate  between  the 
missionary    spirit   and    a   missionary   institution.      An    eloquent 
orator  of  our  Church,  now  deceased,  observed,  "Long  before  the 
American  Board  was  founded  in   1810,  a  celebrated  Methodist 


36  THE   CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 

missionary  by  the  name  of  John  Wesley  sailed  in  General  Ogle- 
thorpe's ship  to  Georgia  on  a  mission  to  the  Indians."  But  John 
Wesley  then  knew  little  more  of  Methodism  than  the  most  super- 
stitious ecclesiastic  in  the  heart  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church. 
Because  he  had  reduced  asceticism  to  its  most  inhuman  forms  and 
had  expanded  sacerdotalism  to  its  most  arrogant  claims,  and 
also  because  he  had  adopted  a  legalism  which  required  him  to 
forge  iron  rules  and  methods  which  not  only  bounded  his  activity 
but  bound  him,  John  Wesley  was  called  a  Methodist  in  dis- 
paragement. Not  until  some  years  after  he  had  failed  in  Georgia 
did  he  come  to  understand  fully  the  Methodism  with  which  his 
name  is  inseparably  connected. 

Others  take  the  ground  that  in  the  proper  sense  of  the  word 
our  fathers  were  missionaries  when  they  preached  to  the  Indians, 
and  when  they  went  to  and  fro  through  this  country,  seeking  to 
save  all  whom  they  met  or  found.  This  was  the  tremendous  zeal 
of  propagandism.  Not  received  by  other  denominations,  Meth- 
odists must  make  conversions  or  as  a  body  die.  They  did 
what  every  evangelical  Church  always  does  when  fervor  rises 
to  the  boiling  point.  "Methodist  missions"  signify  what  Metho- 
dism did  when  it  came  to  realize  that  its  ordinary  itinerant  spread- 
ing of  the  Gospel  was  not  enough ;  when  it  looked  beyond  the 
limits  of  anything  that  could  possibly  react  upon  it.  Then  it  was 
that  the  genuine  spirit  of  foreign  missions  appeared. 

There  is  much  extraordinary  information,  well  gathered  and 
collated,  in  the  handbook  which  has  been  prepared  by  this  com- 
mittee. I  have  read  it  with  care  more  than  once ;  I  see  noth- 
ing to  condemn  and  everything  to  praise,  and  think  that  the  com- 
mittee deserves  the  thanks  of  the  Convention  and  of  the  Church. 
You  will  find  therein  the  exact  order  of  development  of  all  our 
foreign  missions,  their  location,  and  approximately  a  tabulation  of 
their  results  and  condition. 

But  we  are  not  even  all  of  Methodism ;  and  therefore  I  have 
introduced  into  this  handbook  something  which  the  committee 
was  not  obliged  to  include. 
TheWesieyan  I  wish  you  to  see  what  our  Wesleyan  Methodists  did  on  the 
other  side.  I  wish  to  pay  them  a  proper  tribute  before  taking 
up  our  special  work.  In  1786  Thomas  Coke  published  a  pros- 
pectus for  "A  Mission  in  Asia,"  and  in  1791  efforts  were  made  in 
France.     In  1796  he  sent  out  a  few  mechanics  and  farmers  to 


NINETEENTH    CENTURY    METHODIST    MISSIONS  37 

Africa,  but  no  missionary  was  sent  with  them.  In  1811  the  Wes- 
leyans  sent  a  missionary  to  Sierra  Leone.  December  30,  1813, 
Coke  sailed  on  his  wonderful  enterprise  to  Asia,  and  in  1814  they 
sent  another  missionary  to  southern  Africa,  and  in  1815  anothcr 
to  Australia ;  besides  these  they  had  flourishing  missions  in  the 
West  Indies,  including  some  islands  not  belonging  to  Great 
Britain;  so  that  when  they  formed  their  society  in  1818  they 
had  missions  in  all  parts  of  the  globe.  Six  years  before  this  the 
Methodist  Missionary  Society  for  the  Leeds  District  had  been 
formed.  Very  soon  after  the  Methodist  New  Connection  seceded 
from  the  Wesleyan  Methodist  Church  it  established  the  Methodist 
New  Connection  Missionary  Society;  they  founded  it  in  1824. 
First  it  was  limited  to  work  within  the  British  dominions.  In 
1859  it  was  extended  to  the  heathen  in  China.  Soon  there  arose 
half  a  dozen  small  denominations  of  Methodists  in  England ; 
these  associated  themselves  under  the  name  of  the  United  Meth- 
odist Free  Church,  and  in  1837  they  formed  their  missionary 
society,  and  gave  it  a  most  excellent  name :  "The  Home  and 
Foreign  Missionary  Society  of  the  LTnited  Methodist  Free 
Church."  Their  work  is  in  Australia,  New  Zealand,  and  East 
Africa,  and  also  in  China. 

The   Primitive    Methodist   Church   established    its    missionary   other 
society  in  1843,  extended  it  to  the  heathen  in  Africa  in  1869,  ^^^^^   Methodist 
also  sent  some  missionaries  to  Australia. 

The  Board  of  Missions  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
South,  was  organized  in  1844,  immediately  after  the  bisection  of 
the  Church.  Their  highly  successful  missions  in  China  were  be- 
gun in  1848 ;  there  they  were  not  behind  us,  in  any  proper  sense  of 
the  word.  Also,  as  soon  as  the  doors  were  open,  they  entered 
Japan.  Their  missions  to  the  North  American  Indians  and  their 
missions  in  Mexico  and  Brazil  are  of  the  highest  credit  to  them. 

The  Board  of  Missions  of  the  Methodist  Protestant  Church 
was  not  established  until  1870;  they  have  one  foreign  mission, 
and  that  is  in  China. 

We  should  not  turn  scornfully  away  from  the  Home  and 
Foreign  Missionary  Society  of  the  African  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church.  Their  missions  are  in  Africa,  in  Hayti,  in  San  Domingo, 
and  in  Indian  Territory, 

The  Missionary  Society  of  the  Methodist  Church  in  Canada 
did  not  take  up  foreign  mission  work  until  1872,  because  of  the 


38 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


Formation 
of  the 
Missionary 
Society 


immense  concentration  of  their  powers  upon  most  successful  mis- 
sions to  the  Indians  in  their  vast  territory,  as  large  as,  and  indeed 
much  larger  than,  the  habitable  parts  of  the  United  States,  ex- 
clusive of  Alaska.  They  pay  much  attention  to  immigrant  Chi- 
nese, and  their  foreign  work  includes  Japan,  China,  Newfound- 
land, and  Bermuda. 

Having  cleared  the  way  for  an  impartial  survey  of  our  own 
work,  I  desire  to  introduce  you,  if  possible,  into  the  formation  of 
our  society.  There  was  a  young  merchant  in  the  city  of  New 
York  by  the  name  of  G.  P.  Disosway,  who  said  to  Dr.  Bangs, 
"Why  don't  zve  form  a  missionary  society  like  that  of  the  Baptist 
Union  and  that  of  the  American  Board?  Why  don't  we  do  it, 
and  why  don't  we  do  it  at  once?  I  have  some  of  the  Lord's 
money  for  the  society  as  soon  as  it  is  formed."  Nathan  Bangs 
had  had  the  general  thought,  but  it  was  not  concentrated  upon 
any  date  for  initiation.  He  immediately  considered  this  communi- 
cation to  have  been  divinely  suggested,  and  began  to  speak  with 
others  upon  the  subject.  At  this  time  New  York  city  was  a 
circuit,  and  once  a  week  the  superintendent  met  all  the  preachers 
of  the  circuit — which  was  the  origin  of  the  Preachers'  Meeting. 
The  editors  and  all  the  officers  of  the  Church  attended  this  meet- 
ing, also  ministers  who  happened  to  visit  the  city.  In  1819  Laban 
Clark,  who  afterward  had  so  much  to  do  with  the  foundation  of 
Wesleyan  University,  arose  in  this  meeting  and  moved  the  organi- 
zation of  a  society.  On  that  occasion  were  present  Freeborn 
Garrettson,  Joshua  Soule,  and  Nathan  Bangs.  Garrettson  was 
growing  old ;  Clark  was  quite  young.  Soule  was  perhaps  more 
influential  then  than  any  other  Methodist  in  New  York  or  vicinity, 
except  Nathan  Bangs.  He  supported  Clark's  motion,  and  a  com- 
mittee was  appointed  of  Clark,  Bangs,  and  Soule ;  they  were  re- 
quested to  report  at  a  meeting  of  all  the  members  of  the  Church 
in  the  city  of  New  York.  This  meeting  was  held  on  the  5th  of 
April,  1819.  Immediately  there  arose  a  discussion,  first,  upon 
the  proposed  title,  which  was  this:  "Missionary  and  Bible  So- 
ciety of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  America." 

The  American  Bible  Society  had  been  established,  and  its 
friends  thought  that  the  word  "Bible"  should  be  stricken  out,  and 
that  Methodists  should  cooperate  with  that  society — a  proper  view 
of  the  case.  However,  at  that  time  they  were  overcome,  and  the 
name  was  adopted. 


NINETEENTH    CENTURY    METHODIST    MISSIONS  '^Q 

It  was  believed  by  some  that  in  a  little  while  there  would  be  a  How  Mission 
tendency  to  undertake  foreign  missions,  and  a  large  part  of  those  '^°^^  started 
present,  and  many  of  our  members  not  present,  opposed  this  on 
the  ground  that  it  was  enough  for  us  to  hope  to  evangelize  the 
continent  of  North  America,  which,  generally  speaking,  was  at 
that  time  in  a  wild  and  uncivilized  condition.  But  the  society 
was  formed.  The  exciting  cause  of  the  starting  of  regular  mis- 
sionary work  about  that  time  rather  than  before  or  after  was  the 
notable  success  of  Marcus  Lindsay,  between  1816  and  18 19,  in 
preaching  to  the  American  Indians.  At  this  meeting  a  board  of 
managers  was  elected,  consisting  of  the  most  influential  laymen 
of  the  city.  The  senior  bishop,  McKendree,  was  made  president ; 
Bishops  George  and  Roberts,  respectively,  first  and  second  vice 
president ;  Nathan  Bangs,  third  vice  president ;  Thomas  Mason, 
corresponding  secretary;  and  Joshua  Soule,  treasurer.  In  the 
Methodist  Library  at  New  York  the  earlier  reports  are  in  manu- 
script. In  consulting  them  on  various  occasions  it  has  seemed 
quite  easy  to  come  into  communion  with  the  spirit  of  the  founders. 

The  first  report  is  preceded  by  remarks  respecting  the  circum-  The  First 
stances  which  led  to  the  establishment  of  the  society.  "It  had  ^^°^ 
long  been  cause  of  regret  that  that  ministry  which  had  been  so 
signally  owned  of  God  was  not  furnished  with  pecuniary  means 
in  proportion  to  the  extensive  field  in  which  it  seemed  destined 
to  move,  as  well  as  to  enlarge  the  sphere  of  its  usefulness  in  those 
places  where  it  had  commenced  its  operations."  Frequent  failure 
of  efforts  to  extend  the  Gospel  to  remote  and  destitute  parts  of 
this  country  are  recounted,  and  if  such  extension  was  accom- 
plished at  all  it  was  under  great  embarrassment.  It  is  recorded 
that  the  society  was  formed  to  extend  itself  "by  means  of  auxiliary 
and  branch  societies  throughout  the  United  States,  and  to  em- 
brace in  the  field  of  its  labors  every  place,  especially  on  our  own 
continent,  where  the  light  of  divine  truth  had  not  yet  penetrated." 
But  the  ultimate  design  was  to  add,  if  possible,  energy  and  exten- 
sion, so  as  to  carry  the  light  of  evangelical  religion  "to  every 
corner  of  our  inhabited  continent,  whether  Christian  or  savage ; 
and  to  do  this  by  means  of  an  itinerant  ministry." 

An  account  is  given  of  the  New  York  Female  Missionary 
Bible  Society,  established  in  1819,  of  the  Young  Men's  Mission- 
ary and  Bible  Society,  formed  in  the  same  year,  and  of  several 
other  societies  on  the  plan  provided  in  the  constitution. 


40 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


A  Young 

Lad's 

Interest 


Character  of 
the  Society 


The  second  annual  report  states  that  after  making  some  neces- 
sary alterations  in  the  constitution  the  General  Conference  gave 
the  society  its  unqualified  approbation,  recommended  it  to  each 
Annual  Conference,  and  requested  the  general  superintendents 
to  use  their  influence  to  secure  the  forming  of  auxiHary  and 
branch  societies,  the  list  of  which  showed  rapid  growth.  They 
note  that  "a  cry  had  come  from  the  far-away  country  beyond  the 
Alleghanies ;"  they  praised  God  for  the  peace  and  amity  existing 
between  the  Indian  tribes — "the  tomahawk  is  buried,  the  hostile 
arrow  has  fallen  neglected  from  the  bow  of  destruction."  An- 
other figure  of  speech  requires  a  profounder  knowledge  than  I 
possess  of  the  capacities  of  the  English  language  to  explain.  It 
is  this :  "The  escutcheon  has  ceased  to  scatter  terrors  on  the  field 
of  death.  At  our  approach  the  red  men  rise  up  and  call  us 
brothers." 

One  passage  in  the  third  report  is  of  unusual  revealing  power. 
It  is  this:  "Washington  Cockle  (a  lad  about  twelve  years  of  age) 
presented  the  president  with  a  donation  of  $400,  the  proceeds  of 
collections  taken  up  in  the  course  of  the  year  past  at  the  monthly 
sermons  for  the  benefit  of  the  Missionary  Society  preached  to  the 
children  in  the  several  Methodist  churches  in  the  city  of  New 
York.  He  also  addressed  the  meeting  in  a  very  moving  manner 
on  missionary  subjects." 

When  this  youth  of  twelve  had  made  his  well-prepared  speech, 
who  do  you  suppose  it  was  that  seconded  the  motion?  A  man 
whose  name  and  fame,  for  the  gift  of  the  most  felicitous  elo- 
quence, will  never  die  either  in  Europe  or  America — John  Sum- 
merfield.  He  seconded  the  motion  of  Washington  Cockle  that  the 
report  should  be  printed,  and  urged  that  great  eilforts  should  be 
made  to  increase  the  funds.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  extreme 
youth  of  Master  Cockle  will  not  justify  hereafter  any  bringing 
forward  of  infants  in  missionary  meetings.  The  youth  was  not 
inspired.  He  did  not  present  a  speech  upon  any  and  every  subject, 
without  previous  study.  It  was  all  arranged,  and  the  manuscript 
of  his  little  speech  is  said  to  be  preserved  in  New  York  up  to  this 
date. 

When  the  fourth  annual  report  was  prepared  nineteen  mission- 
aries were  recognized,  most  of  whom  were  directly  under  the 
patronage  of  the  society.  Among  them  were  the  Rev.  James  B. 
Finley  and  Charles  Elliot,  afterward  so  noted.    The  report  em- 


Methodists 


NINETEENTH    CENTURY    METHODIST    MISSIONS  4I 

* 

phasizes  the  universality  of  the  character  of  the  society.  It  knows 
no  geographical  lines,  it  gives  no  preference  to  color,  to  nation, 
or  country.  It  is  limited  only  by  its  means.  Its  primary  inten- 
tion is  expressed  in  these  comprehensive  words,  "To  assist  the 
several  Annual  Conferences  to  extend  their  missionary  labors 
throughout  the  United  States  and  elsewhere."  The  receipts  had 
reached  nearly  nine  thousand  dollars. 

At  the  fifth  anniversary  John  Summerfield  moved  that  this  Wesieyan 
society  heartily  congratulate  their  European  brethren  on  their 
success  in  spreading  the  Gospel  by  missionary  exertions  in  Eu- 
rope, in  the  East  and  West  Indies,  in  Africa,  and  in  the  isles  of 
the  South  Seas.  The  report  shows  that  the  Wesieyan  Methodists 
employed  at  that  time  no  less  than  one  hundred  and  fifty-nine 
missionaries,  chiefly  on  foreign  missions  in  Asia,  Africa,  West 
Indies,  Nova  Scotia,  isles  of  the  South  Seas,  and  the  States ;  that 
they  had  planned  a  mission  to  the  land  of  Palestine  and  sent  two 
missionaries. 

In  our  Missionary  Society  work  the  missions  to  the  Indians 
were  most  emphasized. 

The  Rev.  Thomas  Mason  was  corresponding  secretary  in  the 
fifth  year.  In  the  seventh  year  the  Rev.  John  Emory,  afterward 
bishop,  became  corresponding  secretary,  and  held  this  position 
until  he  was  elected  bishop,  when  J.  J.  Matthias  succeeded  him, 
but  only  occupied  the  position  for  one  year,  when  it  was  assumed 
by  Beverly  Waugh.  He  also  was  succeeded  by  the  Rev.  Samuel 
Luckey,  who  the  next  year  was  in  turn  succeeded  by  Beverly 
Waugh. 

In  the  ninth  annual  report  work  of  the  society  was  divided  into 
(i)  Missions  among  the  aborigines;  (2)  Among  the  aborigines 
of  Upper  Canada;    (3)  Domestic  Missions. 

At  the  eleventh  anniversary  the  Rev.  Professor  Durbin,  of 
Augusta  College,  Kentucky,  moved  that  the  report  be  adopted 
md  printed,  and  the  motion  was  seconded  by  Dr.  Wilbur  Fisk, 
of  Wilbraham.  Mass.  Professor  Durbin  dwelt  with  much  em- 
phasis and  feeling  on  the  spreading  victories  of  the  cross  of  Christ 
as  exhibited  in  the  success  of  missionary  enterprise,  and  Dr.  Fisk 
presented  a  series  of  calculations  mathematically  demonstrating 
the  paucity  of  our  means  in  comparison  with  what  might  be 
raised  for  the  object  if  the  missionary  spirit  were  exhibited  in 
the  hearts  of  our  Church  members  generally  as  it  existed  in  the 


42 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


A  Speech  by 
Dr.  Eascom 


Foreign 
Missions 
Entered  Upon 


Liberia 
Annual 
Conference 


vicinity  of  New  York.  Another  man  unequaled  in  power  to 
draw  congregations  by  either  of  these  two  wonderful  orators,  the 
peculiar,  the  mysterious,  the  somewhat  equivocal  Rev.  John  New- 
land  Maffitt,  spoke  to  the  resolution,  thanking  the  auxiliary  socie- 
ties. The  report  represents  that  "under  his  tender,  touching,  and 
affectionate  appeals  the  people  were  ready  to  give  all  they  had  to 
the  cause  of  missions."  The  names  of  all  subscribers  and  donors 
of  amounts  from  twelve  cents  upward  were  printed  in  the  report. 

At  the  twelfth  annual  meeting  the  famous  Bascom  appeared. 
Dr.  Bangs  thus  describes  his  speech :  "For  vigor  of  thought,  for 
affluence  of  language,  for  richness  of  imagery,  for  beauty  of  illus- 
tration, for  soundness  of  argument,  for  cogency  of  reasoning,  for 
extensiveness  of  range,  for  depth  of  learning  and  impressiveness 
of  delivery" — after  this  would  not  one  expect  him  to  say  that  it 
was  superior  to  any  uninspired  address  since  the  creation?  He 
does  not  say  this,  but  affirms  that  "it  was  superior  to  anything  we 
have  heard  for  a  long  time" — Dr.  Bangs  was  preeminently  a  safe 
man. 

In  1833  an  advanced  step  was  taken  by  the  passage  of  this 
resolution :  "That  it  is  the  duty  of  this  society  to  extend  its  opera- 
tions more  especially  among  the  aborigines  of  our  country,  and 
also  among  foreign  nations,  particularly  in  the  interior  of  Africa." 

At  the  next  meeting  a  pall  of  sadness  hung  over  the  assembly 
on  account  of  the  death  of  the  first  foreign  missionary  in  the 
proper  sense  of  the  word,  the  Rev.  Melville  B.  Cox,  who  had 
sailed  for  Liberia  November  6,  1832,  and  arrived  there  after  four 
months.  Some  of  his  first  communications  to  the  board  had  given 
great  reason  to  hope  that  he  would  meet  with  speedy  and  grati- 
fying success,  but  that  hope  was  soon  blasted  by  the  mournful 
tidings  of  his  death.  Several  other  missionaries  were  sent  out, 
and  in  less  than  a  year  they  organized  an  Annual  Conference 
consisting  of  thirteen  members.  The  report  represents  the  pros- 
pects as  truly  encouraging.  Reports  of  domestic  missions  are 
minute.  Seventy-three  such  missions  are  reported,  and  fourteen 
among  the  aborigines.  In  the  list  of  domestic  missions  eighteen 
are  to  the  blacks,  South  Carolina  Conference  alone  having  nine. 
At  these  missions  there  were  two  thousand  six  hundred  and  fifty- 
nine  black  members.  Our  brethren  of  Afro-American  descent, 
and  those  of  the  Caucasian  race  as  well,  will  find  the  words  of 
the  report  on  these  missions  to  colored  people  unusually  sug- 


NIXETEEXTH    CEXTURV    ^rETIIOnTST    MTSSTOXS  43 

gestive :  ''These  missions  have  hitherto  commanded  the  respect 
and  insured  the  patronage  of  the  planters  on  whose  plantations 
they  are  estabhshed,  the  planters  being  satisfied  'that  their  in- 
struction in  the  principles  and  doctrines  of  Christianity  renders 
them  both  more  worthy  of  confidence  and  more  happy  and  con- 
tented with  their  allotments.'  "  In  one  part  of  Christianity,  that 
which  teaches  us  to  "honor  all  men,"  they  could  not  at  that  time 
have  been  fully  instructed.  It  was  chiefly  the  consolations  of 
religion  to  men  of  low  degree,  and  the  hope  of  heaven.  But 
another  doctrine  had  already  begun  to  work,  which  w-as  destined 
to  leaven  the  whole  lump. 

The  sixteenth  anniversary  was  presided  over  by  Bishop  Hed-  A  Large 
ding.  It  was  a  great  occasion.  President  Fisk,  of  Wesleyan  °  action 
University,  ofifered  some  important  resolutions,  and  added  to  them 
an  extemporaneous  one  recommending  a  mission  to  China.  This 
he  advocated  in  a  most  impressive  and  eloquent  speech,  and  closed 
it  by  a  proposition  that  a  subscription  be  opened  for  it.  This,  it 
appears,  was  a  plain  subscription  for  one  mission  as  distinguished 
from  the  rest.  Dr.  Fisk  in  this  respect  was  a  precursor  of  Bishop 
McCabe.  Dr.  Nathan  Bangs,  long  the  treasurer  of  the  society, 
arose  and  said  that  one  gentleman  had  ofifered  to  be  one  of  ten 
to  raise  one  thousand  dollars,  and  immediately  fourteen  hundred 
and  fifty  dollars  was  subscribed.  Great  enthusiasm  characterized 
that  anniversary.  The  most  impressive  scene  of  the  occasion 
took  place  about  midnight :  On  the  missionary  platform  Bishop 
Hedding,  assisted  by  the  Rev.  John  Seys,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Fisk,  the 
Rev.  Beverly  Waugh,  and  others,  ordained  Beverly  Wilson,  a 
colored  man,  a  member  of  the  Liberia  District  Conference,  to  the 
ofiice  of  elder. 

The  report  sent  out  by  the  corresponding  secretary  expresses  Trans- 
doubt  whether  an  "equal  collection  had  been  raised  in  any  Church  progpec^'^g^^ 
in  this  or  any  other  country."  While  the  sixteenth  anniversary 
was  beclouded  by  the  death  of  Bishop  McKendree,  the  seventeenth 
took  note  of  the  death  of  Bishop  Emory.  But  the  gloom  was 
illuminated  by  rays  of  light  of  utmost  brilliancy.  The  Oregon 
Mission  was  expanding  and  flourishing  at  every  point,  and  the 
corresponding  secretary  informed  the  Church  that  he  was  in- 
spired with  the  pleasing  hope  of  seeing  a  line  of  missionary  sta- 
tions established  from  the  upper  Mississippi  over  the  Rocky 
Mountains  to  the  Pacific  Ocean ;    and  he  proposed  another  line 


44 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


South 
American 
Missions 
Established 


of  aboriginal  missions  along  the  Northwestern,  Western,  and 
Southwestern  States,  from  Michigan  to  Alabama  and  Georgia. 
He  informed  the  Church  that  Alfred  Brunson  was  planting  the 
standard  of  the  cross  among  the  Winnebagos,  who  mingled  with 
the  Chippewas  in  the  prairies  of  the  upper  Mississippi.  He  said 
that  a  prophet  of  the  latter  had  forewarned  them  that  the  time 
had  come  for  them  to  exchange  the  religion  and  customs  of  their 
fathers  for  those  of  the  white  people.  The  accounts  from  Liberia 
were  also  encouraging,  but  the  establishment  of  the  South 
America  Mission  was  the  event  which  created  the  greatest  amount 
of  jubilation. 

In  1832  the  General  Conference  recommended  the  bishops  and 
Missionary  Society  to  establish  missions  in  South  America.  The 
Rev.  Fountain  E.  Pitts  was  appointed  a  missionary,  and  he  set 
forth  on  his  tour  in  July,  1835,  exploring  many  points,  and  on 
his  return  recommended  the  establishment  of  missions  at  Buenos 
Ayres  and  Montevideo.  The  General  Conference  of  1836  by 
resolution  requested  Mr.  Pitts  to  visit  Cincinnati  and  report  to 
them  in  person,  which  he  did.  In  1836  Justin  Spaulding  was  ap- 
pointed missionary  to  Brazil  and  John  Dempster  to  Buenos  Ayres. 
Justin  Spaulding  sailed  from  New  York  on  the  twenty-second  of 
the  preceding  March,  and  on  the  fourteenth  of  October  John 
Dempster  sailed  for  Buenos  Ayres. 

For  the  first  time  the  name  of  the  Rev.  George  G.  Cookman 
appears  on  an  anniversary  occasion.  Dr.  Fisk,  w^ho  had  before 
proposed  the  mission  to  China,  now  delivered  a  very  eloquent 
speech  in  favor  of  establishing  a  mission  in  France.  He  urged 
this  with  great  force  because  he  had  just  been  making  a  tour  in 
that  country.  His  appeal  was  so  powerful  that  when  the  proposi- 
tion was  submitted  to  raise  five  himdred  dollars  on  the  spot  to 
begin  the  Avork  fourteen  hundred  and  seventy-four  dollars  was 
pledged,  wdiich,  together  with  the  sum  collected,  amounted  to 
eighteen  hundred  and  ten  dollars  and  upward.  Recognition  of 
the  fact  that  the  Rev.  John  Dempster  had  sailed  as  a  missionary 
to  Buenos  Ayres  was  made.  The  Philadelphia  Conference,  which 
had  a  society  of  its  own,  is  recognized  as  a  fellow-laborer  in  the 
grand  work.  The  appeals  sent  out  by  Dr.  Bangs  bore  no  uncer- 
tain sound.  Here  is  one  sentence :  "Millions  of  immortal  beings 
are  at  this  moment  enveloped  in  all  the  darkness  of  pagan  super- 
stition or  led  astray  by  the  delusions  of  Mohammedan  imposture 


NINETEENTH    CENTURY    METHODIST    MISSIONS  45 

* 

or  buried  beneath  the  rubbish  of  Roman  CathoHc  mummeries  and 
deceitful  workings.  Shall  we — can  we — be  either  idle  or  in- 
different while  casting  our  eyes  upon  such  a  mass  of  moral 
corruption  ?  No,  indeed !  Your  full  hearts  respond  'No'  with 
an  emphasis  which  shall  be  heard  and  felt  throughout  all  the 
ranks  of  our  Israel — and  the  effects  of  which  will  yet  be  witnessed 
all  along  the  line  of  our  missionary  operations,  and  even  far  be- 
yond, at  no  distant  period,  the  places  where  the  footsteps  of  the 
missionary  have  as  yet  marked  the  soil." 

In  the  nineteenth  report  some  observations  are  made  about  the  A  Mission  to 
mission  in  France,  and  it  is  stated  that  "the  society  was  only  prop^gg^ 
waiting  for  a  suitable  opening  of  Providence  in  the  way  of  suit- 
able instruments  to  cooperate  with  those  who  were  there."  It  is 
waiting  yet !  At  the  twentieth  anniversary  Dr.  John  P.  Durbin, 
then  president  of  Dickinson  College,  addressed  the  assembly  and 
moved  that  "the  crowning  glory  of  the  nineteenth  century  is  mis- 
sionary enterprise,"  which  was  unanimously  carried  by  a  rising 
vote.  This  meeting  was  made  sad  by  the  death  of  the  famous 
Martin  Ruter,  who  was  in  charge  of  the  missions  in  Texas,  also  of 
the  Rev.  Samuel  Merwin  and  Dr.  Wilbur  Fisk. 

"Nathan  Bangs,  Resident  Corresponding  Secretary,"  appears 
for  the  first  time  in  the  report  of  1838.  Prior  to  that  time  he  had 
written  every  annual  report  of  the  society.  He  deserves  to  be 
considered  the  father  of  missionary  work. 

The  most  important  event  in  the  history  of  the  society  took 
place  April  9,  1839,  which  was  the  incorporation  of  the  society  by 
the  State  of  New  York. 

In  the  report  of  the  twenty-first  anniversary  foreign  missions 
had  a  chapter  to  themselves,  but  the  German  Mission  in  Cincin- 
nati is  included  among  them,  also  the  French  Mission  in  the  city 
of  New  York ;  and  the  report  omits,  w-hat  had  characterized  all 
preceding  ones,  the  particular  and  detailed  account  of  the  domestic 
missions.  By  this  time  the  Missionary  Society  had  been  so 
thoroughly  established  that  its  praise  was  in  the  mouths  of  all 
evangelical  denominations. 

In  the  twenty-first  year  three  corresponding  secretaries  were   Three 
appointed  :    Nathan  Bangs,  who  had  been  resident  corresponding   .^^^^sp°° 
secretary   for  several  years;    William   Capers,   and   Fdward   R.    Secretaries 
Ames. 

The  twentv-second   anniversarv   w^as   held   in   the   Broadwav 


46  THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 

Tabernacle,  New  York,  Bishop  Hedding  presiding.  An  invita- 
tion had  been  sent  to  the  Rev.  Dr.  Bunting,  of  London.  The 
official  document  was  sent  by  the  Rev.  George  G.  Cookman,  in  the 
steamship  President,  who  was  commissioned  by  the  board  to  rep- 
resent the  Missionary  Society  at  the  anniversary  of  the  Wesleyan 
Missionary  Society  in  London ;  and  a  letter  was  received  from 
Dr.  Bunting,  who  had  been  notified  by  the  recording  secretary, 
*T  have  delayed  my  answer  for  some  time,  hoping  to  receive  the 
more  official  document.  It  is,  however,  on  board  of  the  President 
steamer,  which  has  not  yet  been  heard  of  and  about  which  the 
most  intense  anxiety  prevails  in  this  country."  It  has  never  been 
heard  of  since,  nor  one  trace  of  it  found  on  sea  or  shore.  It 
disappeared  as  though  it  had  been  a  phantom  ship  upon  a  phantom 
ocean. 

When  Dr.  Bangs  finally  retired  from  the  corresponding  secre- 
taryship the  New  York  Annual  Conference  had  the  power  of 
filling  vacancies.  The  subject  was  before  that  body  and  there 
seemed  to  be  no  unity  of  feeling.  In  this  state  of  affairs  the  Rev. 
Charles  Pitman,  an  eloquent  and  most  effective  preacher  of  the 
New  Jersey  Conference,  entered  the  room,  and  as  he  did  so  there 
seemed  to  be  an  immediate  concentration  of  all  eyes  upon  him, 
and  an  almost  universal  sentiment  in  his  favor  at  once  spread 
through  the  body.  He  was  elected  to  fill  the  vacancy  until  1844, 
when  he  was  elected  by  the  General  Conference,  and  reelected  by 
the  General  Conference  of  1848. 

The  missions  recognized  by  the  twenty-third  report  are  the 
Liberia,  the  Oregon,  the  South  America,  and  the  Texas.  The 
German  Missions  occupy  a  very  important  place.  The  Indian 
Missions  had  been  gradually  declining.  A  defense  is  made  of  the 
situation:  "While  they  were  suffered  to  remain  in  the  States  and 
Territories  our  missionaries  loved  to  labor  among  them,  and 
thousands  have  been  elevated,  nor  have  they  been  deserted  in  their 
exile  beyond  the  Western  waters,  and  the  board  most  confidently 
believe  that  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  will  never  desert 
them  so  long  as  there  is  a  vestige  of  their  wasting  tribes  remain- 
ing." Alas  for  the  feebleness  of  the  fulfillment  of  that  prophecy! 
The  Mission  Until  the  mission  in  China  was  established  Methodism  had  not 
a  representative  in  all  Asia.  In  April  and  May  of  1835  the  Mis- 
sionary Lyceum  of  Wesleyan  University  discussed  the  question, 
"What  country  now  presents  the  most  promising  field  for  mission- 


to  China 


NINETEENTH    CENTURY    METHODIST    MISSIONS  47 

* 

ary  exertions?"  The  Chinese  empire  was  warmly  advocated. 
B.  F.  Tefft,  D.  P.  Kidder,  and  E.  Wentworth  were  appointed  to 
prepare  an  address  on  the  subject  to  the  Church.  This  paper 
appeared  in  The  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal  May  15,  1835, 
occupying  three  cohimns.  Money  was  raised,  but  ten  years 
elapsed  before  the  work  was  begun. 

Having  brought  the  society  historically  down  to  the  year  1848, 
and  tried  to  bring  you  into  sympathy  with  its  early  struggles, 
experiments,  and  achievements,  I  shall  now  endeavor  to  elucidate 
the  philosophy  of  foreign  missions  as  related  to  the  genius  of 
American  Methodism. 

By  the  time  that  American  Methodism  organized  its  Missionary 
Society,  Protestant  missions  had  begun  to  take  on  the  form  of  a 
world  movement,  enthusiasm  had  reached  its  highest  point,  and 
novelty,  eloquence,  fervor,  and  the  charm  of  news  from  foreign 
regions  united  to  command  attention. 

The  press  had  not  then  made  all  classes  more  or  less  acquainted 
with  regions  previously  unknown,  or  in  gorgeous  colors  portrayed 
the  yet  unknown  as  imagined  from  a  few  particulars. 

The  American  spirit  was  just  developing.  Huge  forms  of  un- 
measured magnitude  danced  before  the  eyes  of  pioneers,  ex- 
plorers, money-makers,  and  founders  of  institutions. 

Wesleyan  Methodism  had  already  in  a  brief  period  accom- 
plished such  results  that  its  achievements  were  used  to  excite  the 
spirit  of  emulation.  The  explosive  and  ever-restless  forces  of 
religious  zeal  could  not  be  wholly  confined  by  the  limits  of  home 
churches  and  familiar  localities. 

The   relation   of  the   Dark   Continent   to    slavery   made   that  America's 
naturally  the  first  region  to  which  missionary  enthusiasm  was   *"^^^^^ 
directed.    There  was  then  a  deep  feeling  that  America  owed  much  Africa 
to  that  continent.    The  germs  of  the  colonization  movement  were 
in  the  air;    the  proposed  republic  of  Liberia,  from  which  was 
anticipated  so  much,  intensified  the  interest.     The  death  of  Cox 
and  other  missionaries  increased  rather  than  diminished  zeal  and 
determination. 

For  a  while  visions  of  extraordinary  success,  depicted  with 
amazing  eloquence,  roused  the  people ;  afterward  there  came  a 
depression,  which  w^as  felt  profoundly  by  those  who  endeavored 
to  promote  foreign  missions. 

After  the  beginning  of  the  mission  in  China  it  was  morally 


48 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


India 


Japan 


Missions  in 

Latin 

Countries 


certain  that  it  could  not  be  long  before  a  mission  would  be  estab- 
lished in  India,  for  the  progress  of  the  British  government  in 
that  country  was  a  means  of  furnishing  information,  and  also  of 
guaranteeing  protection  to  missionaries.  The  unspiritual  though 
philosophical  religion  of  Confucius  had  not  so  many  attractions 
for  the  American  mind  at  the  time  when  those  missions  were 
established  as  had  the  accounts  of  the  refined  speculations  of  the 
Buddhists,  and  even  the  Hindus  of  India. 

Since  then  a  change  has  occurred,  and  while  mysticism  still 
has  its  votaries,  and  apparently  in  increasing  number,  the  com- 
bination of  the  positive  philosophy  and  stoicism  of  Confucius  is 
more  and  more  interesting  to  the  practical  and  the  hard-headed 
class,  and  often  the  hard-hearted  class,  developed  by  the  peculiar 
characteristics  and  influences  of  recent  American  life. 

When  the  veil  was  lifted  from  Japan,  and  that  wonderful  people 
caught  glimpses  of  European  and  American  civilization,  it  was  as 
certain  that  American  Methodism  would  send  missionaries  to 
Japan  as  that  that  country  existed.  The  charm  of  possible  entry 
into  the  hermit  nation,  Korea,  between  China  and  Japan,  both  of 
which  were  open,  was  like  a  beckoning  hand  and  voice  to  the 
Church.  A  few  months  after  Korea  was  opened  the  time  came 
when  an  appeal  was  made,  and  this  received  a  prompt  response. 
So  by  a  kind  of  logical  connection,  beginning  with  Africa,  prac- 
tically the  whole  pagan  world — excluding,  of  course,  the  scattered 
islands  of  the  sea — has  come  to  some  extent  under  the  influence 
of  American  Methodism. 

The  rise  of  our  missions  in  Catholic  countries  was  quite  simple. 
It  was  in  the  minds  of  the  founders  of  the  society,  and  in  the  very 
name  that  they  gave,  "The  Missionary  Society  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  in  America."  They  spoke  of  the  whole  Amer- 
ican continent.  Roman  Catholicism  they  regarded  as  but  little 
better  than  baptized  paganism,  and  all  that  they  had  heard  of 
the  condition  of  the  South  American  peoples  had  been  confirmed 
by  increasing  knowledge. 

The  difiference  between  Roman  Catholicism,  now  at  its  best  in 
the  United  States,  and  Methodism  in  its  most  primitive  state,  is 
so  radical  that  it  is  not  extravagant  to  affirm  that  Roman  Catholi- 
cism places  serious  and  often  insurmountable  impediments  in  the 
way  of  reaching  a  simple  Christian  spiritual  faith  and  genuine 
self-witnessing  conversion.    Intelligent  Catholics  will  hardly  deny 


NINETKENTH    CENTURY    METHODIST    MISSIONS  ^       49 

this,  for  they  often  praise  themselves  because  of  those  very 
impediments,  and  at  the  same  time  characterize,  and  more 
frequently  caricature,  what  they  call  Methodist  conversions.  It 
is  rather  a  compliment  to  Methodists  than  otherwise  that  Roman 
Catholics  characterize  all  forms  of  evangelical  religion  as 
"Methodism." 

Having  early  established  missions  in  Texas,  it  was  not  wonder-  Mexico 
ful  when  religious  freedom  under  the  strong  hand  of  Diaz  was 
guaranteed  that  we  should  found  missions  in  Mexico,  and  the 
only  reason  that  could  be  urged  when  Italy  was  thrown  open  to 
the  world  why  we  should  not  enter  there  was  the  immensity  and 
need  of  our  operations  elsewhere.  But  who  could  resist  the  con- 
tagious influence  which  spread  itself  over  the  Protestant  world 
when  the  temporal  power  of  the  pope  was  a  thing  of  the  past,  and 
theoretically  men  could  preach  in  Italy  as  freely  as  they  can  preach 
in  the  hamlets,  the  towns,  and  the  cities  of  the  United  States? 
That  influence  was  so  pervasive  and  powerful  that  so  calm  a  man 
as  Bishop  Janes  predicted  that  at  no  distant  date  a  General  Con- 
ference of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  might  be  held  in 
Rome.  Annual  Conferences  indeed  have  been,  but  in  the  flight 
of  time  other  visions  of  Methodism  have  taken  possession  of  the 
more  sagacious,  and  a  General  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church  in  Rome  is  hardly  conceivable  now.  An  Ecumenical 
Methodist  Conference  may  yet  be  held  there,  and  indeed  should  be 
within  a  few  decades.  It  might  marvelously  increase  the  prestige 
of  our  yet  struggling  missions. 

Our  entrance  into  the  Greek  Church  in  Bulgaria  has  been  a  Bulgaria 
sign  of  contention,  but  at  the  time  when  it  was  established  the 
atmosphere  was  intoxicating.  The  "Sick  Man"  of  Europe  was 
supposed  to  be  very  near  death ;  it  was  fancied  that  entrance 
might  be  made  into  Russia  by  means  of  Bulgaria ;  that  there 
might  be  a  spreading  of  evangelical  truth  through  all  the  sur- 
rounding countries. 

The  origin  and  history  of  German  Methodism  and  the  relation 
of  the  German  people  to  the  United  States  are  our  only  and  a 
sufficient  vindication  of  the  introduction  of  Methodism  into  that 
part  of  the  world. 

Lutheranism  is  a  form  of  Christianity  for  which  the  highest  Methodism  iu 
respect  must  be  felt.     When  evangelical  its  spirit  and  forms  are  ^^^°P^ 
almost  beyond  criticism.    Yet  at  the  time  that  Methodism  entered 
4 


50  THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 

Germany  a  large  proportion  of  the  churches  were  dead,  and  many 
of  them  under  the  influence  of  pastors  who  doubted  or  denied  the 
divine  origin  of  Christianity.  The  evangelical  spirit  had  disap- 
peared from  most  of  the  universities.  Germans  migrated  to  this 
country,  came  under  the  influence  of  Methodism,  were  converted, 
wrote  and  returned  home,  and  often  were  denounced  as  apostates 
or  fanatics.  These  charges  were  often  erroneously  made  by  pious 
pastors,  while  by  those  not  religiously  inclined  Methodists  were 
treated  with  contempt.  This  naturally  led  them  to  associate.  It 
also  developed  fervor  and  an  intense  desire  to  lead  their  friends 
into  the  light.  So  many  Methodist  converts  from  this  country 
revisited  the  Fatherland  and  so  many  Germans  were  nverted 
that  the  necessity  for  missionaries  became  as  great  as  it  was  here 
when  the  early  Methodists  besought  Wesley  for  aid.  Soon  a 
Mission  Conference  was  formed,  and  later  regular  Conferences. 
Switzerland  consists  of  cantons  and  half  cantons,  some  exclusively 
French,  some  practically  Italian,  and  many  solidly  German. 
Hence,  and  on  the  same  principles,  Methodism  spread  in  that 
country. 
Scandinavia  The  rise  and  progress  of  Methodism  in  Scandinavia — first  in 

Norway,  then  in  Sweden,  and  finally  in  Denmark — was  under 
similar  influences.  The  State  Churches  of  all  these  countries,  as  a 
whole,  do  not  regard  our  entrance  with  favor.  But  many  of  their 
most  distinguished  representatives — as  they  have  learned  more 
of  us — do  not  conceal  their  conviction  that  we  reach  many  whom 
their  churches  do  not  reach,  and  that  our  presence  and  methods 
have  led  them  to  make  some  real  improvements. 

At  all  events,  wherever  religious  freedom  is  guaranteed,  there 
we  have  the  right  to  exist,  and  to  use  our  own  judgment  when  to 
enter  any  country.  At  the  same  time  Christian  comity  and  amity 
require  us  at  home  and  abroad  to  abstain  from  trying  to  proselyte 
the  living  members  of  any  living  Church  of  Christ.  Those  who 
are  dead  in  sin  or  groping  in  religious  darkness  are  our  lawful 
spoil.  Also  those  who,  after  they  have  viewed  us  from  afar,  draw 
near,  investigate,  and  of  their  own  choice  come  to  us  should  and 
will  ever  find  an  open  door  and  an  outstretched  hand  of  welcome. 

The  philosophy  of  our  domestic  missions  rests  on  the  same 
grounds  as  at  the  beginning.  We  distribute  our  offerings  through 
the  Conferences.  Formerly  all  Conferences  received  what  they 
needed ;  but  later  the  older  Conferences  relinquished  their  claims. 


NINETEENTH    CENTURY    METHODIST    MISSIONS  5 1 

The  Freedinen's  Aid  Society  in  its  beginning  was,  and  at  the 
present  time  is,  apart  from  its  educational  work,  strictly  mission- 
ary ;  though  its  detailed  exposition  here,  for  obvious  reasons, 
would  not  naturally  be  expected. 

Two  days,  after  the  formation  of  the  Missionary  Society,  in  Woman's 
1819,  a  resolution  was  passed  that  "the  females  attached  to  the  uusionary 
Methodist  congregations  be  invited  to  form  a  society  auxiliary  Society 
to  this."  Much  was  done  by  women  in  the  foreign  missionary 
field,  almost  from  the  beginning.  The  Union  Woman's  Mission- 
ary Society  was  organized  in  i860,  and  in  1868  the  Woman's 
Board  of  Missions  auxiliary  to  the  American  Board.  March  17, 
1869,  the  late  Missionary  Bishop  Parker  addressed  the  corre- 
sponding secretaries  at  New  York  with  regard  to  the  formation 
of  a  Woman's  Foreign  Missionary  Society.  Approval  being  se- 
cured, on  the  30th  of  March,  1869,  the  society  was  organized  by 
"Sirs.  Parker  and  Mrs.  William  Butler.  At  the  very  moment  of 
this  organization  Miss  Isabella  Thoburn,  a  sister  of  the  bishop, 
was  offering  herself  to  the  parent  board.  The  marvelous  success 
of  the  Woman's  Foreign  Missionary  Society  is  heard  and  read 
of  all. 

At  the  close  of  the  civil  war  the  condition  of  the  freed  women 
of  the  Southern  United  States  was  seriously  felt  by  many  women, 
who  urged  the  subject  upon  the  attention  of  the  Woman's  Foreign 
Missionary  Society,  but  after  deliberation  it  was  concluded  that 
they  would  do  better  to  restrict  their  work  to  foreign  fields. 

In  1876  it  w^as  proposed  to  establish  a  society  auxiliary  to  the  Woman's 
Freedmen's  Aid  Society ;  but  this  did  not  seem  to  be  practicable,  jji^^onary 
owing  to  the  existing  laws  of  the  State  of  Ohio  with  respect  to   Society 
charters.     It   was   therefore   proposed   to   establish   a   Woman's 
Home  Missionary  Society,  to  do  in  this  country  work  similar  to 
that  done  abroad  by  the  Woman's  Foreign  Missionary  Society. 
The  mother  of  Bishop  Gilbert  Haven  gave  the  first  contribution 
to  the  Woman's  Home  Missionary  Society.    The  approval  of  the 
enterprise  by  the  General  Conference  of  1880  led  to  the  organiza- 
tion.   The  first  meeting  was  called  by  Mrs.  R.  S.  Rust,  in  June, 
1880.     Its  organization  was  speedily  perfected,  and  its  zeal  and 
service  have  been  such  as  to  occasion  wonder  that  the  Church 
existed  so  long  without  it. 

The  deaconess  movement  has  proved  an  adjunct  of  much  im- 
portance to  domestic  missions,  as  carried  on  in  the  Annual  Con- 


52 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


William 
Taylor 


John  P. 
Durbin 


ferences  and  in  many  unclassified  ways.  It  rests  upon  the  prac- 
tice of  the  early  Church,  of  the  modern  renewal  of  it  in  Europe, 
the  analogies  to  it  in  the  Roman  Catholic  churches,  and  upon  its 
own  good  works  in  Methodism,  first  in  Germany,  and  now  for 
fifteen  or  more  years  in  this  country. 

And  what  shall  I  say  of  William  Taylor?  All  that  there  was 
of  missionary  spirit  in  him  was  born  of  Methodism.  The  career 
of  this  wonderful  man  from  its  beginning  to  its  close  belongs  to 
the  spirit  of  Methodist  missions.  Whether  he  sang  and  preached 
in  the  streets  of  San  Francisco,  evangelized  in  Australia,  told  "the 
old,  old  story"  to  the  Kaffirs  in  Africa,  carried  out  the  Pauline 
method  in  India  (from  which  grew  the  great  South  India  Con- 
ference), or  established  schools  and  colleges  in  South  America, 
he  was  first,  last,  and  always  a  Methodist  evangelist,  a  true, 
spiritual  descendant,  on  the  one  side,  of  the  indomitable  Wesley, 
and  on  the  other,  of  the  unresting  Asbury. 

When  in  1884  he  received  the  miter  which  had  been  unused 
since  the  death  of  Missionary  Bishop  Roberts,  and  administered 
the  affairs  of  Liberia  under  the  Missionary  Society,  his  work  be- 
came identified  therewith.  And  when  all  his  schools  and  societies 
in  South  America,  by  the  free  and  magnanimous  action  of  the 
Transit  and  Building  Fund  Society,  were  turned  over  to  us  (as 
were  also  Bishop  Taylor's  stations  in  Africa  outside  of  Liberia), 
his  salary  being  paid  by  the  Missionary  Society,  and  his  last  years 
made  comfortable  by  its  material  and  fraternal  ministrations, 
William  Taylor's  name  became  imperishably  connected  not  only 
with  the  missionary  spirit  of  Methodism,  but  with  Methodist 
Missions  in  the  Nineteenth  Century ! 

The  work  of  the  Missionary  Society  has  been  done  by  the 
bishops,  ministers,  and  laymen  constituting  its  Board  of  Mana- 
gers, by  the  pastors  of  the  churches,  by  the  secretaries  and  the 
treasurers  of  the  society,  by  every  man,  woman,  and  child  who  has 
contributed  to  its  funds,  and  by  the  missionaries  supported  by 
the  gifts  of  the  Church. 

To  Nathan  Bangs,  if  to  any  one  man,  belongs  the  honorable 
name  of  Founder  of  the  Missionary  Society ;  and  to  Charles  Pit- 
man belongs  the  special  honor  of  having  been  the  first  to  thrill 
the  Church  at  large  with  eloquent  appeals.  But  in  John  P.  Dur- 
bin the  society  had  a  representative  worthy  of  comparison  with 
any  public  servant  of  the  Church  in  modern  times.     Great  gifts 


NINETEENTH    CENTURY    METHODIST    MISSIONS     .  *  S3 

of  oratory,  learning,  travel,  an  extraordinary  aspect  of  simplicity, 
remarkable  powers  in  the  management  of  office  business  were  all 
united  in  him.  Such  a  combination  of  the  oratorical  temperament 
with  a  methodical  mind  has  not  been  found  elsewhere  in  Metho- 
dism since  the  death  of  John  Wesley. 

The  keynote  of  his  administration  was  this :  "The  support  of  Secretaries 
missions  is  committed  to  the  churches,  congregations,  and  socie-  jjiggfonarv 
ties  as  such."  When  Dr.  Durbin  accepted  the  position  he  made  a  Society 
condition  that  assistance  should  be  granted  him  in  the  oflicc.  The 
Rev.  David  Terry,  a  New  York  city  missionary,  was  selected  for 
the  purpose.  He  entered  the  office  as  recording  secretary,  and 
was  reelected  annually  until  1883,  when  he  finished  his  useful 
service  of  thirty-three  years.  William  L.  Harris  was  elected  as- 
sistant corresponding  secretary  in  i860,  to  reside  in  the  West, 
but  to  labor  under  the  direction  of  the  board ;  but  in  1864  it  was 
the  universal  opinion  that  his  services  were  greatly  needed  in  New 
York.  The  General  Conference  accordingly  elected  two  assistant 
corresponding  secretaries,  Dr.  Harris  for  the  office,  and  Dr. 
Joseph  M.  Trimble  for  the  Western  field.  But  the  General  Confer- 
ence of  1868  left  Drs.  Durbin  and  Harris  at  New  York  in  charge 
of  its  entire  work.  In  1872  Dr.  Durbin  retired,  and,  Dr.  Harris 
having  been  elected  to  the  episcopacy,  the  General  Conference 
elected  three  corresponding  secretaries,  Drs.  Robert  L.  Dashiell, 
Thomas  M.  Eddy,  and  John  M.  Reid.  On  October  7,  1874,  Dr. 
Eddy  died.  He  had  many  of  the  elements  of  Durbin :  method  in 
the  office,  a  high  order  of  oratory  on  the  platform,  and  aljility  to 
labor  at  the  desk.  Until  1876  Drs.  Dashiell  and  Reid  conducted 
the  affairs  of  the  society,  and  both  were  reelected,  but  before  the 
sitting  of  the  next  General  Conference  Dr.  Dashiell,  under  an 
agonizing  disease  which  surgical  operations  failed  to  relieve  or 
cure,  had  slowly  sunk  to  the  grave.  At  the  General  Conference 
of  1880  Dr.  John  M.  Reid  and  Dr.  Charles  H.  Fowler  were 
elected.  James  N.  FitzGerald  was  elected  by  the  board  recording 
secretary.  In  1884,  Dr.  Fowler  being  elected  bishop,  Dr.  John  M. 
Reid  and  Dr.  Charles  C.  McCabe  were  elected  secretaries.  In 
1888,  on  the  retirement  of  Dr.  Reid,  Dr.  McCabe  was  reelected, 
and  Drs.  J.  O.  Peck  and  A.  B.  Leonard  were  chosen  secretaries. 
Dr.  FitzGerald  being  elected  bishop,  Stephen  L.  Baldwin,  D.D., 
was  elected  recording  secretary.  These  secretaries  were  all 
reelected  in  1892. 


54  THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 

In  the  spring  of  1894  Dr.  Peck,  to  the  grief  of  the  whole 
Church,  was  stricken  unto  death.  In  1896  Dr.  McCabe  became 
bishop,  and  Drs.  Leonard,  Palmer,  and  Smith  were  elected  corre- 
sponding secretaries.  In  1900  the  General  Conference  radically 
modified  the  constitution  of  the  Missionary  Society,  providing 
for  only  one  corresponding  secretary  and  one  assistant  corre- 
sponding secretary.  These  offices  were  filled  by  Drs.  A.  B. 
Leonard  and  H.  K.  Carroll. 

The  Laity  It  remains  to  say  that  all  these  conspicuous  men — these  secre- 

taries and  bishops  and  editors — could  have  accomplished  little 
for  the  cause  of  missions  without  the  laity.  The  rich  have  given 
large  sums,  but  the  multitude  of  the  poor  have  equaled  them. 
Poor  women  have  starved  themselves,  have  done  their  own  heavy 
domestic  work,  that  they  might  give  their  sons  to  foreign  missions 
and  their  daughters  to  the  Woman's  Foreign  and  Home  Mission- 
ary Societies.  I  thank  God  that  I  sat  under  the  spell  of  Dr. 
Durbin ;  I  thank  him  also  for  his  successors,  each  in  his  own 
order,  who  have  furnished  instruction  and  stimulus. 

The  As  for  the  missionaries,  when  I  think  of  Maclay,  practically  the 

founder  of  our  missions  in  China  and  Japan,  and  of  William 
Butler,  the  founder  of  our  missions  in  India  and  Mexico ;  when 
I  recall  where  Bishop  Wiley  is  buried,  and  how  he  came  to  be 
buried  there ;  and  think  of  Kingsley,  who  made  the  first  episcopal 
missionary  journey  around  the  world,  and  unwittingly  was  ap- 
proaching the  Jerusalem  which  is  above  when  turning  aside  to 
visit  the  Jerusalem  which  is  beneath ;  and  when  I  remember  the 
missionaries  that  have  died  far  from,  their  homes  and  the  scenes 
of  their  youth,  and  especially  those  missionaries  who  in  extreme 
age  or  infirmity  have  been  brought  back  to  this  country,  to  linger 
among  a  generation  that  has  come  up  since  they  departed — I  say 
when  I  realize  all  these  things  and  what  they  mean  I  seem  to 
myself  to  behold  a  great  company  of  men  and  women  the  latchet 
of  whose  shoes  I  am  not  worthy  to  unloose ! 


Missionaries 


^ 


MISSIONS    AND   SPIRITUALITY  55 

SPIRITUAL   PREPARATION    FOR    MISSION- 
ARY  SERVICE 

The  Rev,  A.  H,  Tuttle,  D.D. 

The  theme  of  this  paper  was  given  me  with  the  understanding 
that  I  should  discuss  it  in  relation  to  the  Church  at  home  as 
well  as  to  the  missionary  in  the  field.  Otherwise  I  would  hesitate 
to  consider  the  subject  at  all ;  because  I  believe  that  the  spiritual 
qualifications  of  the  missionary  differ  in  no  respect  from  those 
required  for  the  kingdom  of  our  God  everywhere. 

There  is  undoubtedly  a  great  variety  of  gifts  and  methods  Spiritual  Gifts 
among  the  Lord's  people,  but  they  are  all  pervaded  by  the  one 
spirit  which  gives  them  their  distinctive  character  as  spiritual. 
The  missionary  is  not  lone  and  peculiar  in  this  respect.  He 
should  be  a  converted  man ;  so  should  we  all.  Like  him,  we  all 
should  be  recipients  of  the  quickening  Spirit,  should  know  God 
and  be  consecrated  to  his  cause.  Spirituality  is  confined  to  no 
clime  or  mode  of  service.  Whether  in  heathenism  or  in  Gospel 
lands,  "This  honor  have  all  the  saints." 

Nor  do  we  believe  that  there  is  at  this  time  any  urgent  need  of 
our  pressing  upon  the  toilers  in  missionary  fields  the  necessity  of 
living  close  to  God  and  partaking  of  the  heavenly  gift.  The  very 
character  of  their  work  is  such  as  to  force  them  either  to  a 
constant  and  conscious  union  with  him,  or  to  drive  them  from 
the  field. 

In  Christian  lands  it  is  possible  for  one  to  engage  in  a  sacred  A  Suggestion 
calling  without  any  measure  of  spiritual  life.  For  its  worldly  °  *  ^^^ 
emoluments  we  may  perform  our  dut}-  at  the  holy  altar  in  a  way 
perfunctory,  hollow,  double-minded,  soulless,  without  any  keen 
sense  of  the  tremendous  issues  of  our  acts.  An  ecclesiastical 
office  may  be  degraded  into  a  secular  calling,  without  demanding 
personal  sacrifices  or  setting  up  any  close  tests  of  Christian  char- 
acter. But  we  cannot  conceive  of  one  engaging  in  missionary 
work  from  any  other  motive  than  the  love  of  Christ.  We  well 
remember  how  Dr.  William  Butler  when  about  to  start  for  India, 
leaving  his  little  children  in  the  fatherland,  and  being  asked  by  an 
affectionate  mother,  "How  can  you  do  it?"  responded  with  an 
emotion  that  suggested  Calvary,  "Only  for  Jesus." 

It  was  this  spirit  that  carried  Morrison  to  China,  and  Carey  to 


56  THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 

Spirituality  of  India,  and  Judson  to  Burma ;  and  it  is  this  that  has  set  many  of 
Missioaaries  ^^^  choicest  men  and  women  in  vokmtary  expatriation  and  the 
severing  of  the  dearest  domestic  ties.  Certainly  the  love  of  ad- 
venture, ambition  for  distinction,  or  greed  could  not  hold  them 
for  any  length  of  time  to  the  immeasurable  sacrifices  required  for 
their  work.  A  passion  for  lost  souls  begotten  of  a  conviction  that 
Christ  has  called  them  to  this  mission  alone  will  provide  a  sus- 
taining motive  in  their  prolonged  and  unrequiting  toil.  The 
result  is  that  our  missionaries  are  remarkable  for  their  genuine 
spirituality.  We  remember  a  description  given  by  Bishop  Foster 
of  his  first  prayer  meeting  in  a  foreign  missionary  station.  He 
said  that  he  had  never  seen  such  a  manifest  presence  of  God  in 
an  ordinary  midweek  service  in  all  his  history  as  a  minister  in  his 
native  land.  He  supposed  at  first  that  this  meeting  must  have 
been  exceptional.  But  he  found  that  it  was  the  usual  thing  in 
every  service  in  places  most  widely  separated,  and  came  to  the 
conclusion  that  the  unvarying  fact  was  due  to  the  vigorous 
spiritual  life  of  missionaries  everywhere.  Corresponding  with 
this  testimony  is  our  own  observation  of  the  influence  of  returned 
missionaries.  In  the  domestic  circle,  in  social  life,  and  in  the 
various  services  of  the  church  their  presence  has  been  vitalizing 
and  uplifting. 

From  the  personal  character  of  our  missionaries  and  their 
heroic  work  in  the  world  we  have  reached  the  conclusion  which 
we  make  the  thesis  of  our  paper.  We  will  discuss  it,  however, 
not  from  the  side  already  suggested,  however  fruitful  it  may  be — 
missionary  work  compelling  an  increasing  spirituality — but  will 
consider  it  in  the  reverse  order,  which  we  believe  is  as  philosoph- 
ical as  it  is  practical,  namely,  spirituality  compelling  missionary 
work. 

It  is  not  necessary  for  us  to  attempt  an  elaborate  statement  of 
the  meaning  of  spirituality.  The  spiritual  mind  is  a  mind  per- 
vaded by  the  Spirit  of  God ;  and  the  attributes  of  the  divine 
Spirit  give  character  to  the  human  spirit  which  receives  it.  We 
will  name  a  few  of  its  most  obvious  features  and  note  their  rela- 
tion to  missionary  work. 
^°d's  I.  The   Holy   Spirit   is   God  himself;    and   when   he   fills   the 

]Pr6S6IlC6 

human  soul  there  is  a  profound  sense  of  God's  presence.  It  is 
said  of  the  wicked  that  "God  is  not  in  all  his  thoughts."  In  con- 
trast with  this  is  the  statement  that  "They  that  are  after  the  Spirit 


MISSIONS    AND   SPIRITUALITY 


57 


A  Sense  of 
the  Nearness 
of  Christ 


do  mind  the  things  of  the  Spirit."  "Mind"  them — for  thoughts, 
affections,  motives  do  not  hold  ascendency  in  the  mind  by  any 
lawless  chance,  but  are  determined  by  our  wish  ;  and  in  their  final 
settlement  are  more  or  less  directly  under  the  control  of  our  will. 
It  is  the  will  that  encourages,  retains,  rejects,  and  finally  settles 
their  spontaneous  and  habitual  recurrence.  And  it  is  this  fact 
that  makes  them  decisive  of  character.  So  the  mind  that  turns 
to  God  by  conscious  purpose,  in  holy  desire,  in  diligent  search  for 
his  will  as  revealed  in  his  word  and  his  providence,  in  communion 
with  him  in  the  secrecies  of  the  closet  and  the  worship  of  the 
sanctuary,  comes  into  an  abiding  realization  of  God's  presence, 
his  authority,  his  guidance,  his  care.  There  is  a  vivid  sense  of 
the  nearness  of  Christ,  with  all  those  personal  elements  of  love 
and  gratitude  which  make  it  an  actual  fellowship.  "The  world 
knoweth  it  not ;"  but  to  us  it  is  life  itself,  awakening  and  libera- 
ting the  soul,  enlarging  our  being,  and  bringing  us  into  an 
experience  compared  with  which  a  life  of  personal  indulgence  is 
dullness  itself.  When  for  any  reason  that  sense  of  the  divine 
presence  is  lost  the  spiritual  mind  pants  for  it  as  the  hart  for  the 
water  brooks:  "O  God,  my  soul  thirsteth  for  thee,"  etc.  It  often 
reaches  the  ardor  of  a  lofty  and  urgent  enthusiasm:  "For  the 
love  of  Christ  constraineth  me ;"  and  the  vividness  of  a  hallowed 
and  transporting  joy :  "Whom  having  not  seen,  ye  love  ;  in  whom, 
though  now  ye  see  him  not,  yet  believing,  ye  rejoice  with  joy 
unspeakable  and  full  of  glory."  This  communion  with  God, 
which  is  a  distinguishing  feature  of  genuine  spirituality,  is  some- 
times confounded  with  religious  emotion ;  and  so  mere  feeling, 
which  is  only  the  bloom,  is  frequently  cultivated  as  the  root  of 
spiritual  life.  But  religious  rhapsody  is  not  fellowship;  it  may 
be  a  mischievous  counterfeit.  It  has  often  misled  holy  men  from 
the  true  purpose  of  active  life,  which  God's  work  in  the  world 
requires,  into  one  of  mystical  contemplation. 

We  have  no  disposition  to  sit  in  judgment  on  all  contemplative  Mysticism 
mystics.  Some  of  them  have  so  blessed  our  world  as  almost  to 
persuade  us  that  their  system  must  be  of  God.  Bernard  of 
Clairvaux,  Thomas  a  Kempis,  Madame  Guyon,  Fenelon,  and 
others  of  similar  seraphic  piety  we  hold  in  veneration.  But,  not- 
withstanding the  exceptional  excellence  of  their  characters,  we 
dissent  from  their  systems  in  two  particulars.  It  relegates  to  the 
department  of  feeling  and  imagination  that  wliich  should  place 


58 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


An  Essential 
Feature  of 
Spirituality 


Fellowship 
with  God 


itself  in  all  appointed  duties,  in  the  most  active,  the  most  crowded, 
the  most  harassed  and  tempted  life.  A  second  fatal  feature  of 
the  system  is  that  it  is  apt  to  allow  what  it  calls  the  intuitions  of 
the  spirit  to  overrule  the  word  of  God.  Mysticism  was  beautiful 
even  in  its  errors  when  it  went  hand  in  hand  with  God's  word. 
But  when  it  denied  the  supremacy  of  the  Scriptures  it  became 
debased  and  was  only  a  caricature  of  the  true  inner  life. 

But  the  errors  of  the  mystics  should  not  divert  us  from  the 
great  fact  that  we  have  named  as  an  essential  feature  of  spirit- 
uality, namely,  a  deep  and  abiding  sense  of  God's  presence. 

1.  It  is  this  that  inspires  missionary  motive.  Christ's  "Go," 
with  which  all  the  four  gospels  close,  is  as  though  the  voice  of  the 
IMaster  addressed  personally  to  us  a  word  of  supreme  authority. 
It  appeals  to  the  conscience  as  no  worldly  argument  for  the  need 
of  missions  could. 

2.  It  is  this  fellowship  that  is  the  secret  of  the  mission  worker's 
power.  "With  God  all  things  are  possible" — which  means  not 
that  God  can  do  what  we  cannot  do,  which  is  a  mere  truism; 
much  less  that  our  faith  or  holiness  gives  us  power  over  God, 
which  it  certainly  never  does ;  but  accord  with  God  allies  us  to 
his  omnipotence.  Just  as  in  the  realm  of  the  natural  world  to 
know  its  laws  and  accord  with  them  turns  all  its  powers  into  our 
service,  so  in  the  realm  spiritual  to  know  its  laws  and  accord 
with  them  is  for  us  to  fellowship  with  God's  almightiness. 

3.  It  is  this  fellowship  with  God  that  sustains  the  missionary 
in  his  work.  "Lo,  I  am  with  you  alway"  is  his  in  actual  expe- 
rience. In  whatever  peril  he  may  be  placed  "the  eternal  God  is 
his  refuge,  and  underneath  are  the  everlasting  arms."  The  horses 
and  chariots  of  God  fill  the  air  of  every  Dothan  where  the  servants 
of  Jehovah  are  in  the  path  of  duty.  Should  disaster  come,  as  it 
often  does,  the  missionary  is  sustained  with  the  indescribable  joy 
of  consciously  sharing  with  his  Lord  in  the  great  principle  of 
vicarious  sacrifice  by  which  the  w^oe  of  this  world  is  to  be  healed. 
"Now  I  rejoice  in  my  sufferings  for  your  sake,  and  fill  up  on  my 
part  that  which  is  lacking  of  the  afflictions  of  Christ  in  my  flesh 
for  his  body's  sake,  which  is  the  church," 

4.  It  is  this  fellowship  that  gives  the  missionary  the  assurance 
of  the  final  success  of  his  toil.  How  small  is  the  stone  cut  out 
without  hands !  But  it  breaks  the  image  to  pieces  and  is  sure  to 
become  a  great  mountain  and  fill  the  whole  earth. 


MISSIONS    AND    SPIRITUALITY  *       59 

II.  A  second  essential  feature  of  spirituality  is  an  active  s}  ni-  God's  Purpose 
pathy  with  the  supreme  purpose  of  God  in  the  world  and  his  ^°^  *^®  World 
methods  of  achieving  it.  God's  purpose  as  he  himself  has 
revealed  it  in  his  Son  is  to  get  to  himself  a  whole  race  of  children, 
every  one  of  whom,  like  the  eternal  Son,  shall  be  witnesses  of  his 
truth  and  executors  of  his  will  and  ultimately  share  with  him  in 
the  fullness  of  his  glory.  For  this  the  foundations  of  the  world 
were  laid,  and  this  is  the  key  to  all  history.  The  calamity  of  sin, 
which  threatened  the  utter  overthrow  of  this  divine  intent,  is  met 
by  the  Gospel  of  redemption  in  Christ,  which  is  to  be  carried  to 
the  ends  of  the  earth  and  offered  to  all  mankind,  when  our  Lord 
will  return  in  the  glory  of  his  power.  It  is  not  needful  for  us  to 
discuss  the  question  which  now  divides  the  Church  as  to  whether 
the  entire  world  is  to  be  converted  before  the  day  of  Christ's 
coming;  or  whether  the  world  is  to  continue  its  antagonism  to 
the  Gospel  till  the  end  of  this  dispensation,  the  good  and  evil 
maturing  together  like  wheat  and  tares  practically  indistinguish- 
able. On  one  thing  the  spiritually  minded  are  united,  namely, 
that  the  Gospel,  by  which  alone  men  are  to  be  saved,  is  to  be 
offered  to  every  human  creature.  If  all  do  not  accept  it  many 
will,  and  thus  "God  visits  the  nations  to  take  out  of  them  a  people 
for  his  name." 

I  recently  met  with  a  new  rendering  of  a  familiar  passage  of  No  Frontier 
Scripture.  It  is  taken  from  an  old  Syriac  fragment :  "And  to  his 
kingdom  there  shall  be  no  frontier."  God's  reign  is  to  be  limitless 
not  only  as  to  time,  but  also  as  to  territory.  That  individual  or 
church  which  is  not  in  sympathy  with  this  commanding  purpose 
of  God  may  have  many  excellent  qualities,  but  is  certainly  not 
spiritual.  One  office  of  the  Spirit  is  to  execute  the  divine  will, 
and  when  there  is  no  sympathetic  movement  toward  the  achieve- 
ment of  Christ's  supreme  purpose  in  the  world  it  is  proof  positive 
of  a  deadly  absence  of  the  Holy  Ghost  life.  On  the  other  hand, 
when  this  supreme  purpose  of  God  gets  a  vital  hold  on  the  heart 
it  becomes  an  absorbing  and  controlling  passion,  which  is  dis- 
tinguished by  two  things,  both  of  which  are  recognized  features 
of  genuine  spirituality : 

First,  a  hearty  consecration  of  self  to  missions.  To  some  it 
comes  with  the  force  of  divine  command,  "I  must  go ;"  to  others, 
"I  must  send ;"  to  all,  'T  must  sustain  by  prayer  and  sympathy 
those  whom  the  Holy  Ghost  has  set  apart  for  this  work."    This 


6o 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


Self- 
indulgence 


Unfaltering 
Faith 


feature  of  spirituality  stands  out  in  marked  contrast  with  the 
spirit  of  self-indulgence  which  characterizes  the  world,  in  which 
we  are  compelled  to  include  a  large  portion  of  the  Church,  which 
has  so  far  departed  from  the  spirit  of  its  Lord  as  to  be  perilously 
near  to  antichrist. 

One  of  our  monthly  magazines  has  been  recently  publishing  a 
series  of  entertaining  articles  on  "The  Luxuries  of  Millionaires," 
which  is  provocative  of  serious  reflection  among  those  whose 
hearts  have  been  touched  with  the  sorrow  of  Christ,  who  came 
seeking  to  recover  that  which  God  had  lost.  Think  of  a  single 
woman  keeping  stored  away  in  a  safe  deposit  vault  jewels  valued 
at  more  than  one  million  dollars,  the  interest  of  which  would  keep 
fifty  chosen  men  in  India  gathering  precious  jewels  for  the  crown 
of  our  Christ.  One  man  spent  for  a  single  picture  a  sum  sufficient 
to  put  a  hundred  consecrated  men  in  the  heart  of  China's 
wretchedness,  to  purify  and  beautify  imperishable  souls.  A 
private  yacht  which  cost  nearly  a  million  for  its  construction  and 
equipment  consumes  when  on  a  deep-sea  cruise  eighty  tons  of 
coal  a  day.  The  coal  bill  for  a  season  is  twenty-five  thousand 
dollars,  and  the  wages  paid  thirteen  thousand  dollars.  This  is 
altogether  aside  from  the  cabin  table  and  other  expenses.  There 
are  now  in  the  lists  of  the  New  York  Yacht  Club  one  hundred  and 
sixty-four  steam  yachts  which  cost  their  owners  from  ten 
thousand  dollars  to  twenty-five  thousand  dollars  a  month.  A 
society  woman  last  August  gave  an  entertainment  at  Newport  at 
a  cost  of  little  less  than  fifty  thousand  dollars.  We  are  told  of  a 
woman's  dress  made  of  one-thousand-dollar  bank  notes,  with 
sleeves  made  of  still  costlier  certificates  of  stocks.  The  money 
thus  wasted  would  cover  Africa  with  evangels  who  would  bring 
the  unclad  savages  not  alone  to  decent  clothing  for  their  bodies, 
but  white  robes,  imperishable,  for  their  spirits. 

This  extravagance  of  the  immensely  Avealthy  appears  shocking 
to  us  because  of  its  enormous  figures.  But  the  character  of  sin 
is  not  to  be  measured  by  its  bulk.  The  mites  are  as  decisive  of 
character  as  the  gold  coins.  In  homes  of  moderate  comfort  men 
and  women  are  living  in  a  style  that  exhausts  the  last  dollar  of 
their  income,  leaving  no  tithes  for  God.  This  is  an  extravagance 
that  is  sure  to  wither  the  spiritual  faculty. 

The  other  feature  of  spirituality  which  an  appreciation  of  God's 
purpose  in  the  world  creates  is  an  unfaltering  faith  in  its  final 


MISSIONS   AND  SPIRITUALITY  6l 

i 

accomplishment.  The  worldly  mind  lacks  the  elevation  of  thought 
and  conviction  necessary  for  a  sustained  and  aggressive  faith  in 
missions.  It  is  hampered  by  questions  from  the  time  viewpoint. 
Does  it  pay?  Are  not  the  demands  at  home  more  urgent?  Is  it 
best  to  make  such  immense  sacrifices  of  men  and  treasure?  Are 
not  the  heathen  better  ofif  as  they  are  ?  Do  not  commerce  and  war 
eflfect  better  results  than  the  Gospel  method  ?  But  all  this  is  swept 
away  by  a  single  breath  of  the  Holy  Ghost  which  lifts  the  recipient 
spirit  into  an  assurance  of  the  will  of  omnipotence.  It  is  this  that 
gives  to  the  missionary  in  the  field  and  the  missionary  Church  at 
home  a  faith  that  dares  the  impossible,  an  audacity  which  to  those 
who  live  on  a  lower  level  is  reckless  and  perilous,  but  which 
proves  to  be  the  power  of  the  very  God,  and  leads  into  a  career 
that  is  really  miraculous  and  reads,  as  has  been  forcibly  put,  "like 
a  chapter  in  the  book  of  the  Acts." 

III.  One  thing  already  implied  in  what  we  have  said  needs  to  Unworldli- 
be  separately  emphasized  as  a  feature  of  the  spiritual  mind ; 
partly  because  it  is  popularly  identified  with  spirituality,  and 
partly  because  of  the  common  misconception  of  its  character  and 
its  practical  bearing  on  the  work  of  God  in  the  world,  namely, 
unworldliness.  When  this  world  dominates  the  individual  and 
the  Church,  both  cease  to  be  spiritual;  and  that  means  that  the 
spirit  of  missions  is  gone.  A  worldly  Church,  that  studies  its 
interests  mainly  on  its  earthly  side,  has  never  been  and  never  can 
be  zealous  for  the  salvation  of  men,  especially  for  those  far  beyond 
its  immediate  locality.  It  lacks  that  keen  insight  and  that  far 
outlook  which  the  inspiration  of  the  Holy  Spirit  imparts.  It  is 
without  conviction  and  motive  for  a  work  so  essentially  divine. 

We  believe  that  right  here  is  the  secret  of  the  exigency  to  The  Present 
which  the  cause  of  missions  is  reduced  at  this  time.  It  is  not  the  ^^''if^ncy 
want  of  information,  nor  of  consecrated  and  capable  workers,  nor 
of  a  sufficiently  organized  propaganda;  nor  is  it  to  be  found  in 
the  poverty  of  the  people.  In  all  these  particulars  the  Church  was 
never  so  richly  equipped,  and  never  was  so  great  a  door  and 
eiifectual  open  to  us  as  at  this  very  hour.  But  notwithstanding 
all  this  the  various  societies  of  Protestantism  are  brought  to  such 
a  critical  state  as  not  only  to  call  a  halt  to  any  farther  advance, 
but  to  seriously  consider  where  and  how  we  can  retrench.  The 
secret,  we  believe,  is  mainly  right  here  in  the  general  worldliness 
of  the  Church  of  God.     Very  generally  the  motive  and  purpose 


62 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


Citizens  of 
Heaven. 


Supreme  Need 
of  the  Hour 


of  the  Church  seem  to  begin  and  end  in  its  material  good.  It  is 
all  of  this  world.  When  a  church  finds  itself  in  an  emergency, 
instead  of  falling  down  on  its  knees  and  inquiring  of  the  Lord, 
with  the  acuteness  of  the  market  place  it  resolves  to  put  a  new 
front  on  its  building  or  enlarge  its  organ,  or  strengthen  its  choir 
with  new  soprano  or  tenor  chosen  solely  with  a  view  to  its  art 
regardless  of  its  spiritual  character ;  or  to  search  for  a  pulpiteer 
who  can  "draw,"  with  hardly  a  question  as  to  whether  the  draw- 
ing power  be  that  of  the  stage  or  the  cross.  To  strengthen  its 
waning  life,  it  broadens  its  phylacteries  and  adds  another  wheel 
to  its  machinery. 

Of  course,  we  know  that  the  children  of  God  are  citizens  of 
this  world,  and  the  spiritual  faculty  will  find  its  proper  exercise 
and  employment  along  the  line  of  its  earthly  conditions.  The 
Holy  Ghost  does  not  ignore,  but  uses  good  business  methods.  It 
is  not  the  use  of  earthly  methods  that  constitutes  worldliness,  but 
the  absence  of  the  inner  spirit  and  motive  that  finds  its  vital 
breath  in  the  atmosphere  of  the  unseen  world.  No  wise  business 
methods  can  take  the  place  of  personal  devoutness.  Work  must 
wait  on  worship. 

I  have  said  that  we  are  citizens  of  this  world  in  our  activity ; 
but  we  are  citizens  of  heaven  in  our  life.  This  last  must  come 
first.  There  must  be  life  before  action.  The  moment  we  lose 
that  life  we  have  stepped  down  on  the  plane  of  this  world.  Then 
even  sacred  things  become  worldliness.  Official  earnestness  will 
pass  for  holy  ministries ;  discussion  of  heavenly  topics  will  be 
taken  for  spirituality ;  warmth  of  manner  will  be  mistaken  for 
heavenly-mindedness ;  artificial  fervor  in  the  declaration  of  God's 
truth  will  supply  the  place  of  an  inward  and  growing  experience 
of  its  power.  All  this  means  Sardis,  which  has  a  name  to  live 
and  is  dead. 

The  supreme  need  of  the  hour  felt  by  all  those  who  long  for 
the  triumph  of  our  Christ  in  the  world  is  a  more  profound  and 
healthful  spiritual  life  among  those  who  bear  his  name. 

At  the  recent  general  Missionary  Conference  held  at  New 
Orleans  by  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  the  venerable 
Dr.  B.  M.  Palmer,  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  one  of  the  greatest 
men  of  our  age  and  one  of  its  ripest  Christian  spirits,  after  speak- 
ing briefly  of  the  unusual  opportunities  opening  for  the  Church, 
said :     "All  this  is  our  joy  and  comfort ;   but,  brothers,  does  not 


I 


MISSIONS    AND   SPIRITUALITY  63 

the  Church  now  require,  in  a  degree  far  beyond  what  we  have 
ever  enjoyed,  the  outpouring  of  the  Holy  Ghost?  If  all  the 
branches  of  the  Church  of  Christ  could  only  enjoy  just  now  such 
an  outpouring  as  we  had  on  Pentecost  it  would  be  ready  almost 
for  the  millennium,  and  we  might  speedily  expect  the  coming  of 
the  blessed  Lord  to  reign  King  of  the  nations,  as  he  now  is  the 
King  of  the  saints,  and  see  him  wearing  before  the  assembled 
universe  his  many  crowns  upon  his  head."  Our  own  Bishop 
Moore  closes  an  interview  given  to  The  Christian  Advocate  with 
these  significant  words:  "I  beg  to  add,  as  my  most  solemn  judg- 
ment and  most  emphatic  word,  that  the  supreme  need  at  home  and 
in  the  foreign  field  is  a  mighty  and  overwhelming  revival  of 
religion." 

The  chief  thing,  then,  for  us  who  have  the  cause  of  God  Deeper 
throughout  the  world  at  heart  is  to  seek  to  bring  ourselves  and  1 
the  entire  Church  to  a  deeper  and  truer  spiritual  life.  And  we  Spiritual  Life 
can  do  it.  God  has  set  us  here  for  that  very  purpose.  We  will 
do  it,  however,  not  chiefly  by  conventions,  committees,  discussions, 
and  organizations.  All  these,  however  wisely  wrought,  may  only 
add  to  the  cumbrous  materialism  of  an  already  overweighted 
Church.  And  that  they  certainly  will  do  unless  they  are  vitalized 
from  the  beginning  with  the  breath  from  above.  Let  our  con- 
ventions be  pervaded  with  the  spirit  of  worship ;  let  our  com- 
mitteemen first  take  counsel  with  God  in  the  secret  place  where 
he  makes  known  his  covenant ;  let  us  enter  upon  our  discussions 
only  when  we  are  conscious  that  God's  presence  enfolds  us.  Then 
our  organism  will  not  be  a  busy  factory,  but  a  watered  garden. 
Then  we  will  assuredly  see  that  which  the  angel  of  the  Apocalypse 
showed  St.  John :  "A  pure  river  of  water  of  life,  clear  as  crystal, 
proceeding  out  of  the  throne  of  God  and  of  the  Lamb.  In  the 
midst  of  the  street  of  it,  and  on  either  side  of  the  river,  the  tree 
of  life,  which  bare  twelve  manner  of  fruits,  and  yielded  her  fruit 
every  month :  and  the  leaves  of  the  tree  were  for  the  healing  of 
the  nations." 


64 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


Numerical 
Increase  of 
Heathen 


The  Work 
that  Remains 


HOME   ALLIES   IN   OUR   WORK   OF 
EVANGELIZATION 

H.  K.  Carroll,  LL.D. 

The  battle  for  righteousness  was  never  so  fierce  since  the  fall 
of  man  as  it  is  in  our  age.  God's  hosts  were  never  so  sorely  beset 
both  from  within  and  without  their  own  lines.  The  enemy  was 
never  so  thoroughly  organized,  so  numerous,  so  determined,  and 
so  well  commanded  as  now,  in  the  opening  years  of  the  twentieth 
century.  The  hordes  of  heathen  peoples,  Moslems,  unbelievers, 
backsHders,  Pharisees,  hypocrites,  are  vast,  indeed,  compared 
with  the  true  and  valiant  soldiers  of  Jesus  Christ.  The  natural 
increase  of  the  nine  hundred  or  ten  hundred  millions  of  the  earth's 
population  who  are  not  Christians  is  in  itself  a  formidable  factor 
of  the  enemy's  strength.  In  the  past  ten  years  the  population  of 
India,  now  about  295,000,000,  gained  by  natural  increase,  not- 
withstanding the  ravages  of  the  famine,  over  seven  millions ; 
while  the  increase  of  the  Christian  population  was  only  764,000, 
or  a  little  over  three  fourths  of  a  million.  That  is,  for  every 
Christian  gained  there  was  a  net  increase  of  ten  Hindus  and 
Moslems.  The  disparity  in  the  relative  increase  of  heathen  and 
Christians  in  China,  with  its  fourth  or  more  of  the  world's 
population,  must  be  even  greater.  We  cannot,  therefore,  escape 
the  conclusion  that  the  absolute  increase  of  the  forces  outside  the 
kingdom  of  Christ  is  far  greater  than  that  of  the  forces  within 
that  kingdom.  Think  of  the  masses  of  sinners  in  the  world — sin- 
ners in  the  black  midnight  of  idolatry  and  fetichism ;  sinners  in 
the  glimmer  of  a  faint  and  far-off  star,  as  the  followers  of 
Mohammed ;  sinners  in  the  gloom  of  the  faded  light  of  slowly 
dying  hope,  as  the  Jews ;  and  sinners,  daring,  defiant,  doubting 
sinners  in  the  white  light  of  the  noonday  sun.  What  a  work 
remains  for  the  hosts  of  God !  Surely  we  need  the  encouragement 
of  prophecy  that  "one  shall  chase  a  thousand,  and  two  put  ten 
thousand  to  flight ;"  that  a  nation  shall  be  born  in  a  day,  and  that 
the  time  shall  come  when  every  knee  shall  bow  and  every  tongue 
confess  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ.  Surely  we  need  to  strengthen 
our  forces,  and  develop  our  resources  and  increase  our  efforts,  and 
especially  to  welcome  the  cooperation  of  all  who  are  "on  our 
side." 


HOME   ALLIES  ^        65 

We  are  not  losing  ground,  we  are  steadily  gaining;  but  our  victories 
very  conquests  tend  to  increase  the  strenuousness  of  the  campaign  ^^^ip^y 
we  wage.  Our  problems  are  multiplied  by  our  victories.  Dewey 
won  the  Philippines  in  a  single  day,  before  breakfast ;  but  the 
working  out  of  a  system  of  effective  civil  government  for  them 
is  a  matter  of  years.  Sampson  and  Schley  gave  a  new  baptism 
of  glory  to  our  Independence  Day  by  what  they  did  at  Santiago ; 
but  the  questions  which  free  Cuba  must  settle  multiply  before  the 
little  republic. 

The  work  of  evangelizing  the  world  is  the  great  work  before 
us ;  but  it  seems  as  though  almost  every  good  influence  and 
agency  needs  to  be  associated  with  it.  The  word  of  life,  spoken, 
written,  practiced,  wins  the  convert  from  heathenism ;  but  the 
mind  and  heart,  the  purposes  and  aspirations,  the  habits  and  ac- 
tions of  that  convert  must  be  molded  anew.  After  he  has  passed 
from  death  unto  life  the  activities  of  the  new^  life  must  be  made 
attractive  and  possible  to  him.  A  new  society  for  himself  and  his 
family  must  be  prepared,  and  a  new  education  on  a  Christian 
basis  provided. 

There  is  a  place,  therefore,  in  this  campaign  of  preaching,  A  Work  for 
printing,  teaching,  healing,  for  all  the  people  of  God.  The  Mis- 
sionary Society,  according  to  its  Manual,  is  simply  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  "in  a  corporate  form  for  the  purpose  of  estab- 
lishing Christian  missions  in  our  own  and  in  foreign  lands."  It 
has  the  command  of  Christ,  "Go  ye  into  all  the  world,  and  preach 
the  Gospel  to  every  creature,"  as  its  authoritative  commission ; 
but  it  recognizes  the  priesthood  of  believers  as  also  of  divine  ap- 
pointment, and  therefore  welcomes  most  heartily  and  without 
hesitation  or  reservation  the  cooperation  of  the  women  of  our 
Church  in  the  Woman's  Foreign  and  the  Woman's  Home  Mis- 
sionary Societies.  By  our  Church  law  they  are  gleaners  in  our 
wheat  field,  not  being  allqwed  to  take  any  of  the  bound  sheaves ; 
but  the  harvesters  leave  the  corners  and  many  well-filled  heads 
of  grain  to  the  patient  and  faithful  gleaners,  and  when  the  thresh- 
ing is  all  done  and  the  heaps  compared,  lo,  it  is  found  that  the 
two  belonging  to  the  women  are  more  than  half  as  large  as  that 
of  the  parent  society.  Surely,  this  is  very  successful  gleaning. 
Of  these  gleanings  nearly  $427,000  went  last  year  to  our  foreign 
fields  in  support  of  the  agencies  established  and  directed  by  the 
W'Omen.  Take  away  this  sum  from  our  foreign  missions,  and 
S 


All 


66 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


Woman's 
Work 


The  Home 
Field 


Places  of 
Worship 


you  would  take  away  thirty-six  per  cent  of  the  total  expenditures. 
Very  suggestive,  this,  of  the  might  of  the  woman's  mite. 

Nor  are  the  women  less  successful  as  missionaries  than  as 
money  raisers.  There  is  no  field  so  distant,  difficult,  or  dan- 
gerous ;  no  place  so  isolated ;  no  people  so  savage  or  degraded ; 
no  work  so  hard  or  hazardous  as  to  deter  women  from  offering 
themselves  for  the  Master's  service.  As  Christian  women  among 
heathen  women  and  children,  whose  doors  are  shut  to  men,  they 
are  heralds  of  light  and  life.  Millions  of  the  enslaved  sex  behind 
the  purdah  would  be  helpless  and  hopeless  but  for  these  teachers 
and  preachers  of  the  Gospel  who  count  not  their  lives  dear  unto 
themselves  so  that  they  might  finish  their  course  with  joy  and 
testify  to  the  Gospel  of  the  grace  of  God.  "I  have  seen,"  said  a 
Chinese  preacher,  "the  wounded  side  of  Christ."  He  referred  to 
a  noble  woman  of  Australia,  Mrs.  Saunders,  who,  her  two 
daughters  having  been  killed  by  a  mob  in  China,  came  herself  as 
a  missionary  to  take  up  their  work  where  they  had  laid  it  down 
for  a  martyr's  crown.  Women  were  not  only  first  at  the 
sepulcher,  they  were  also  last  at  the  cross,  and  last  at  the  burial. 

The  Woman's  Home  Missionary  Society  is  diligent  in  the 
prosecution  of  its  excellent  work  in  Utah,  in  the  South,  in  the 
cities,  among  foreign-speaking  populations  and  the  aborigines, 
in  the  maintenance  of  children's  homes,  rest  homes  and  training 
schools  for  missionaries  and  deaconesses,  and  other  work  for  the 
advancement  of  the  kingdom.  The  deaconess  is  often,  at  least  in 
Utah,  the  pioneer  to  prepare  the  way  for  the  preacher.  We  are 
glad  to  count  the  two  woman's  societies  as  our  allies,  our  gracious, 
modest,  brave,  efficient  allies. 

It  is  obvious  that  we  need  much  help  and  strong  help  in  the 
wide  and  diversified  work  of  our  immense  home  field.  The  Mis- 
sionary Society  supports  in  whole,  or  in  part,  about  4,000 
missionaries  in  the  United  States  and  its  colonies,  exclusive  of 
the  Philippines.  This  i-equires  from  the  parent  society  alone 
more  than  $500,000  yearly. 

But  converts  at  home  as  well  as  abroad  must  be  cared  for  after 
they  are  secured,  and  the  first  need  is  a  place  of  worship,  where 
they  can  be  instructed,  exhorted,  encouraged  in  Christian  living, 
Christian  duty,  and  Christian  activity.  For  the  newborn  babe  a 
cradle  or  crib  is  provided ;  not  less  necessary  to  the  newborn 
soul  is  shelter  in  a  nursery  of  faith.     Paul  could  make  tents  for 


HOME    ALLIES  ^         67 

his  converts,  if  necessary,  with  his  own  hands;  so  can  some  of 
our  own  apostles.  A  httle  minister  who  rode  thirteen  hundred 
miles  in  a  buggy,  from  Nebraska  to  a  Rocky  Mountain  appoint- 
ment, found  a  mere  shanty  serving  for  the  house  of  God.  He 
exhorted,  urged,  begged  the  trustees  to  build  a  new  church,  but 
utterly  without  avail.  Their  cry  was,  "We  can't,  we  can't." 
Finally  he  said,  "You  can  if  you  will ;  but  if  you  won't,  I  can  and 
will."  And,  with  saw  and  hammer  and  plane  and  trowel,  he  did ; 
and  looking  down  upon  a  group  of  trustees  from  the  cupola  of 
the  completed  building  he  said,  "Brethren,  didn't  I  say  it  could 
be  done?"  But  we  have  more  pressing  work  for  ministers  than 
this.  Their  supreme  calling  is  to  plan  and  direct  the  building  of 
Christian  characters,  leaving  to  the  Board  of  Church  Extension  Church 
the  high  function  of  master  church  builder.  By  gifts  and  loans  *t«°"oii 
the  board  has  made  possible  the  erection  of  more  than  12,000 
churches.  It  does  not  give  churches  entire  and  unconditional — 
that  would  tend  to  paralyze  local  effort ;  but  it  aims  so  to  aid  as 
to  encourage  weak  societies  to  put  forth  their  best  efforts  to  raise 
their  owm  rooftree.  Consider  what  a  boon  this  system  has  been 
to  the  struggling  negroes  of  the  South  whom  it  has  assisted  in 
erecting  2,600  churches ;  to  the  poor  whites  of  the  same  section, 
who  have  secured  1,700  churches  in  the  same  way;  to  the  people 
of  the  wide  West,  beyond  the  Mississippi,  who  gratefully  credit 
to  it  5,800  churches.  These  figures  are  eloquent  of  heroic  en- 
deavor. Think  of  those  12,000  churches  as  so  many  centers  of 
light,  dissipating  moral  darkness,  shining  on  the  pathway  of 
weak  and  w-eary  wayfarers,  and  guiding  straight  to  the  gates  of 
heaven.  The  saloon  is  Satan's  seat ;  the  church  is  the  house  of 
God.  God  seems  to  be  saying  to  the  Church,  as  Bishop  Simpson 
remarked :  "Intrench  yourselves ;  build  forts ;  garrison  them 
well;  a  struggle  is  coming;  we  must  have  our  places  of  defense 
and  concentration." 

The  Missionary  Society  has  done  what  it  could  to  evangelize  Work  for 
the  millions  of  negroes  and  poor  whites  in  the  South,  the  resources 
of  that  section  not  being  sufficient  for  so  great  a  work.  But  the 
Church  saw  at  the  beginning  that  a  special  effort  must  be  made 
to  remove  the  curse  of  ignorance.  We  must  establish  elementary 
schools,  because  the  States  of  the  South  could  not  be  expected  to 
meet  the  educational  needs  of  their  people  for  a  generation.  We 
now  see  that  another  generation  will  be  required  to  make  their 


68  THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 

public  schools  adequate  to  the  work  to  be  done.  We  must  also 
plant  institutions  of  higher  education  in  the  South  to  prepare 
young  men  and  women  of  both  races  to  discharge  honorably  and 
successfully  their  duties  in  social,  civil,  religious,  business,  and 
professional  life.  The  Church  devised  for  its  instrument  in  ac- 
complishing this  vast  and  important  work  of  reformation  the 
Freedmen's  Aid  and  Southern  Education  Society,  We  hail  it  as 
a  noble  ally  of  the  Missionary  Society,  for  it  is  molding  the  Hves 
of  our  converts  according  to  the  high  ideals  of  Christian  intelli- 
gence, activity,  and  achievement.  The  founding  of  a  university 
or  college  is  surely  no  small  or  ordinary  enterprise.  The  society 
of  which  we  are  speaking  has  founded  and  is  maintaining  eight 
universities  and  four  colleges,  besides  twelve  academies,  a  theo- 
logical seminary,  and  a  medical  school.  Its  work  is  eminently  a 
Christian  work,  and  the  influence  it  exerts  in  the  elevating  and 
harmonizing  of  antagonistic  races  cannot  fail  of  glorious  results. 
City  Miasions  Methodism  began  its  life  on  this  side  of  the  sea  in  the  city,  but 
quickly  followed  the  tide  of  population  into  the  country.  The 
early  fathers  went  to  the  villages  and  farms  and  kept  abreast  of 
the  pioneers  as  they  moved  the  frontier  farther  and  farther  toward 
the  setting  sun.  They  were  voices  crying  in  the  wilderness, 
which  blossomed  like  the  rose  under  their  heroic  labors.  When 
factories  divided  interest  with  farms,  and  railroads  quickened 
and  increased  the  tides  of  migration,  the  flood  turned  toward  the 
cities,  and  here  is  the  problem  of  the  Church  and  of  the  State  and 
of  civilization  itself.  Absorbed  in  diffusing  itself  over  our  con- 
stantly enlarging  national  domain,  Methodism  left  to  its  churches 
in  the  cities  the  task  of  solving  the  problems  thrust  upon  them. 
The  time  soon  came  when  their  task  assumed  such  alarming  pro- 
portions that  city  missionary  societies  sought  association  for 
consultation  and  mutual  encouragement.  So  we  have  the 
National  City  Evangelization  Union,  with  organizations  in  more 
than  fifty  cities,  reporting  an  annual  outlay  of  more  than  $175,000. 
This  is  missionary  work,  as  real,  as  necessary,  as  important  as 
any  that  the  Missionary  Society  itself  is  doing.  It  is  not  com- 
petitive, it  is  complementary,  and  it  is  the  policy  of  the  Missionary 
Society  to  promote  it  in  every  practicable  way  and  to  make  larger 
and  larger  appropriations  to  it,  as  its  funds  may  warrant.  Our 
great  cities  are  epitomes  of  races  and  nations,  babels  of  languages 
and  pantheons  of  religion.    Here  one  may  see  how  perfectly  home 


HOME   ALLIES  69 

missions  and  foreign  missions  become  one,  and  liow  the  same 
work  is  being  wrought  in  New  York  and  Chicago  and  San  Fran- 
cisco as  in  the  capitals  of  Europe  and  the  cities  of  Asia. 

If  one  will  listen  long  and  very  attentively  he  will  hear  the  Sunday 
tramp,  tramp,  tramp  of  the  mightiest  army  the  earth  has  ever 
known.  It  is  invading  every  country  and  is  sure  to  conquer. 
Men  will  step  from  its  ranks  and  ascend  thrones  now  occupied 
and  rule  as  emperors,  kings,  princes,  and  presidents.  Every 
place  of  power  and  influence  will  sooner  or  later  fall  into  the 
hands  of  these  invincible  invaders.  I  borrow  the  figure.  This 
advancing  host  are  the  children  of  to-day.  As  we  pass  off  the 
stage  of  action  they  will  take  our  places.  What  will  they  be  when 
they  come  into  their  inheritance?  Angels  of  light  or  demons  of 
darkness.  Such  are  the  possible  alternatives,  and  those  who  now 
wield  the  scepter  of  power  in  State  and  Church  and  society  must 
decide  which  they  shall  be.  The  Christian  family  and  the  Church 
nursery,  the  Sunday  school,  must  be  chief  factors  in  molding  the 
characters  of  the  future  generation.  Our  Sunday  School  Union 
is  a  powerful  ally  of  the  Missionary  Society  in  the  work  of 
evangelization,  reporting  last  year  an  increase  of  81  schools,  of 
100,000  in  average  attendance,  and,  best  of  all,  of  127,540  con- 
versions. The  work  of  the  Union  covers  the  entire  territory  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  not  being  limited  to  the  United 
States,  and  I  call  attention  to  the  significant  fact  that  the  two 
Annual  Conferences  reporting  the  largest  number  of  Sunday 
schools  are  the  North  India  and  the  Northwest  India.  I  must 
not  forget  to  mention  in  this  connection  the  good  work  of  the 
Tract  Society,  at  home  and  abroad,  in  circulating  sound  Christian 
literature. 

Last,  but  not  least,  among  our  allies  is  the  American  Bible  American 
Society,  What  would  the  Church  do  without  the  Scriptures  ?  It  ^  ®  °"^  ^ 
would  be  like  a  ship  at  sea  without  chart  or  compass  or  rudder. 
Our  debt  of  obligation  to  the  American  Bible  Society  can  never 
be  paid.  No  matter  where  our  missionaries  go  it  is  there  to  put 
the  Scriptures  into  the  hands  of  their  converts  ;  no  matter  to  what 
strange  people  or  tribe  they  may  be  sent  it  has  the  word  of  God 
ready  for  their  use,  so  that  in  all  lands  the  miracle  of  Pentecost 
may  be  constantly  witnessed,  and  every  man  hears  the  inspired 
writers  of  the  blessed  book  "speaking  in  his  own  language."  Last 
year  more  than  1,700,000  volumes  of  the  Holy  Scriptures  were 


70 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


Other 
Agencies 


Strength  of 
the  Church 


issued  by  that  venerable  society,  upward  of  a  million  of  which 
went  to  foreign  lands,  at  a  cost  of  $230,000. 

I  regret  that  I  cannot  adequately  represent,  in  the  time  allotted 
me,  other  societies  and  agencies  contributary  to  the  great  work 
of  evangelizing  the  world — the  Board  of  Education,  which  has 
enabled  thousands  of  young  ministers  to  secure  their  preparation 
for  home  and  foreign  fields ;  the  universities,  colleges,  and 
seminaries  which  have  been  as  upper  rooms  for  pentecostal  bap- 
tism; that  powerful  lever  of  religious  thought  and  activity,  the 
periodical  press ;  the  Book  Concern,  with  its  choice  books  de- 
signed to  help  forward  the  kingdom  of  Christ;  and  the  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association,  whose  work  in  foreign  fields  is  of 
inestimable  value.  The  agencies  are,  indeed,  many  and  fruitful 
of  result ;  and  there  are  still  others  which  might  not  improperly 
find  place  here,  if  time  allowed. 

Such  are  the  allies  which  the  stress  of  the  world's  need  of  the 
Gospel  has  brought  into  action.  Our  first  thought  is  of  the  zeal 
and  might  of  our  Church.  Four  thousand  eight  hundred  mis- 
sionaries in  the  forefront  of  the  battle,  with  a  corps  of  engineers 
and  builders,  sappers  and  miners  to  complete  the  equipment, 
requiring  about  $2,500,000  annually  for  the  support  of  the  varied 
operations !  Generous,  indeed,  are  our  members,  and  constant 
and  willing  in  their  sacrifices.  Our  second  thought  is  one  of 
intense  longing  for  a  deeper  earnestness  and  zeal  on  the  part  of 
the  Church  in  providing  more  men,  more  means  for  the  campaign. 
They  can  be  furnished  and  no  other  interest  suffer,  no  other  need 
remain  unsatisfied.  The  resources  of  the  Church  have  not  been 
developed ;  indeed,  they  have  hardly  been  explored.  Our  third 
thought  is  one  of  hope  and  cheer.  As  we  view  the  splendid  array, 
led  by  the  great  Captain  of  our  salvation  and  terrible  as  an  army 
with  banners ;  as  we  hear  the  martial  tread  of  the  mighty  hosts 
of  God  shaking  the  continents,  and  catch  the  strains  in  many 
tongues,  of  their  songs  of  victory,  we  take  courage.  *Tf  God  be 
for  us,  who  can  be  against  us?  If  Christ  direct  the  battle  what 
matter  who  commands  on  the  other  side,  or  how  many  legions  he 
leads?  We  must  not  falter  before  the  foe,  nor  desert  the  cause 
of  the  Lord ;  but  trust  and  obey,  trust  and  obey,  and  fight  on  till 
the  end  come  and  the  kingdoms  of  this  world  become  the 
kingdoms  of  our  Lord  and  of  his  Christ, 


\ 


OUR   OPPORTUNITY  71 

OUR   OPPORTUNITY 

Bishop  C.  H.   Fowler 

Opportunity  is  power.  What  we  ought  to  do  we  can  do.  God's 
When  God  opens  a  door  before  a  people  that  is  his  command  to  Leadership 
them  to  enter,  and  his  promise  to  back  them  to  the  extent  of  his 
resources.  This  law  underlies  leadership.  History  is  full  of  the 
transfer  of  power  from  the  theoretical  leader  to  the  actual  leader. 
In  the  critical  hour  the  multitude  stands  back.  Some  man  able  to 
see  God  and  read  events  steps  forward  into  the  breach,  other  men 
catch  his  inspiration,  gather  about  him  obeying  his  order,  the 
good  cause  is  advanced  and  buttressed,  a  new  figure  appears  in 
history,  and  a  new^  name  is  found  on  the  scroll  of  honor.  When- 
ever a  people  sees  God's  beckoning  hand  and  hears  his  call  and  is 
obedient  to  the  heavenly  vision,  then  they  rise  to  higher  levels, 
take  up  heavier  burdens,  achieve  greater  results,  and  reap  wider 
harvests  for  God.  But  whenever  through  fear  or  selfishness  or 
diversion  they  hesitate  and  doubt,  then  they  see  some  braver 
people  step  to  the  front  and  take  the  place  which  they  might 
have  had. 

The  great  doors  of  the  world  are  not  often  swung  wide  open.  Doors  that 
God  waited  many  centuries  for  a  Gutenberg  or  a  Columbus,  also  ^^°'* 
many  centuries  for  a  Luther  or  a  Wesley.  Moreover,  the  great 
doors  do  not  stand  open  before  a  man  or  people  long  unused. 
They  swing  back  again.  A  door  opened  in  the  house  of  Cornelius 
for  Peter  to  become  the  great  apostle  to  the  Gentiles.  But  Peter 
feared,  and  in  Jerusalem  turned  back  toward  Judaism,  and  God 
called  another.  He  found  him  on  the  highway  near  Damascus, 
Saul  of  Tarsus,  and  sent  him  "far  hence  unto  the  Gentiles,"  and 
gave  him  the  glory  of  widening  out  Judaism  from  being  the 
religious  cult  of  a  subjugated  province  at  the  foot  of  the  Mediter- 
ranean to  become  the  religion  of  all  races  over  all  lands  for 
all  ages. 

It  is  a  great  thing  to  have  a  great  world  door  opened  before  a 
man  or  people.  France  had  a  high  day  of  opportunity  when 
Protestantism  almost  reached  the  throne.  St.  Bartholomew's 
massacre  shut  the  door  in  her  face ;  she  staggered  back  through 
centuries  of  superstitions  and  ignorance  and  cruelty  to  the  Reign 
of  Terror.     So  great  was  the  crime  of  St.  Bartholomew's  Day 


'J2  THE   CLEVELAND   MISSIONARY   CONVENTION 

that  God  has  not  forgiven  it.  Poor  France,  glorying  in  Dreyfus 
trials,  lies  like  an  infected  tatter  on  the  threshold  of  the  twentieth 
century.  It  is  a  fearful  thing  to  have  a  great  world  door  shut 
against  a  people.  South  America  saw  the  great  open  door  when,  in 
the  beginning  of  the  last  century,  the  English  flag  was  unfurled 
over  Montevideo  at  the  mouth  of  the  La  Plata.  She  bid  fair  to  be 
a  great  free  people  with  a  steady  government  and  the  wealth  of  a 
continent  in  her  hands,  but  treachery,  bribery,  and  crime  hauled 
down  that  flag  and  turned  that  continent  back  to  the  superstition 
and  slavery  and  cruelty  and  robbery  of  Spain.  The  hand  of  the 
inquisitor  sealed  up  the  continent  again.  It  is  a  fearful  thing  to 
have  a  great  world  door  shut  against  a  people. 

"Once  to  every  man  and  nation  comes  the  moment  to  decide, 
In  the  strife  of  Truth  with  Falsehood,  for  the  good  or  evil  side. 

Careless  seems  the  great  Avenger ;  history's  pages  but  record 
One  death-grapple  in  the  darkness  'twixt  old  systems  and  the  Word ; 
Truth  forever  on  the  scaffold,  Wrong  forever  on  the  Throne — 
Yet  that  scaffold  sways  the  future,  and  behind  the  dim  unknown 
Standeth  God  within  the  shadow,  keeping  watch  above  His  own," 

An  Answered       God  has  opened  the  great  doors  of  the  world  to  Methodism  and 
Prayer  jg  beckoning  her  to  enter  in  and  possess  the  kingdom.     These 

doors  open  on  every  side.  We  can  hardly  go  amiss.  The  only 
chance  to  miss  everything  is  to  stand  still  in  our  old  tracks.  I  can 
remember  when  we  were  praying  God  to  open  the  lands  of 
heathenism.  This  prayer  has  long  since  been  answered.  Now  we 
must  pray  God  to  send  forth  laborers  into  the  field  where  the 
harvest  is  already  white.  But  we  are  especially  called  upon  to 
consider  the  fields  recently  opened  to  us,  and  new  openings  in  old 
fields  which  constitute  part  of  the  emphasis  put  upon  our  atten- 
tion in  these  last  three  or  four  years. 

It  is  difficult  wisely  to  interpret  Providence.  God  writes  in 
such  large  characters  that  few,  if  any,  are  able  to  read  and  accu- 
rately to  interpret  what  is  written.  An  Indian  carried  a  chip 
upon  which  a  Plymouth  soldier  had  written  a  message  to  his 
family.  It  was  to  him  a  deep  mystery  that  awed  him.  He  held 
it  in  a  split  stick  and  carried  it  with  reverence  and  holy  fear.  He 
could  not  read  and  understand  what  was  written.  But  he  saw 
the  marks  and  knew  that  the  chip  would  talk  to  those  who  could 
read  the  writing.     Somewhat  in  this  way  we  feel  and  read  the 


OUR   OrPORTUNITY 


73 


purposes   of   Providence.      We   cannot   accurately   interpret   his 

writing  upon  the  sky  and  in  events,  but  we  know  that  something 

is  there  recorded.     Sometime  some  revelation  of  Providence  will 

come.     It  is  for  us  to  know  that  his  will  is  being  written.     We 

must  study  it  as  carefully  as  possible  and  do  our  best  to  follow 

its  indications. 

In  personal  decisions  it  is  a  simple  rule  to  follow  where  things  interpreta- 

open  naturally  at  the  seams.    This  is  nature's  order,  to  follow  the  p°°  ?^ 

line  of  least  resistance.     When  events  thrust  a  land  up  into  the 

center  of  the  field  of  vision  it  is  safe  to  conclude  that  we  are 

called  to  look  upon  it  and  inspect  it.     When  a  child  is  dropped 

into  the  lap  of  a  family  that  is  a  clear  indication  that  God  wants 

the  family  to  care  for  that  child.    When  a  country  is  dropped  into 

the  lap  of  a  people  it  is  safe  to  conclude  that  God  wants  that 

people  to  care  for  that  country.     The  determining  elements  are 

three  in  a  righteous  cause :   need,  accessibility,  and  ability — need 

and  accessibility  on  the  part  of  the  people  who  are  to  be  helped, 

ability  on  the  part  of  the  people  who  are  to  help.     When  these 

points  are  settled  the  call  is  clear;   when  these  three  planets  are 

in  conjunction  that  constitutes  a  call  from  heaven. 

If  God  ever  entered  into  our  history  from  the  holding  of  North   Our  New 

•  Possessions 

America  for  Protestant  Christianity  to  the  present  hour  it  was 

when  he  dropped  the  Spanish  colonies  of  Porto  Rico  and  the 

Philippines  into  our  lap.     We  were  perfectly  contented  with  our 

borders.     We  were  well  trained  in  minding  our  own  business. 

We  had  not  the  slightest  idea  of  ever  touching  the  neighboring 

islands.    We  had  a  great  ruler  and  statesman  a  generation  ago. 

President  Grant,  who  advised  us  to  buy  Cuba  and  avoid  troubles. 

But  we  were  so  bent  on  avoiding  foreign  complications  that  we 

all  cried  out  against  it ;  all  parties  vied  with  each  other  in  abusing 

him  for  it.     So  he  said,  "If  you  do  not  want  to  provide  against 

trouble,  you  need  not.     Only  wait  and  see."     So  we  sat  down 

again  in  our  contentment  and  never  expected  to  sail  out  of  home 

waters.    We  went  into  Havana  harbor  and  slept  and  dreamed  of 

peace,  when  all  unexpectedly  God  shook  us  up,  just  as  he  said 

to  the  old  prophet,  "What  do  you  here?    Wake  up,  get  up,  go." 

On  that  awful  14th  of  February  in  1898  the  Spanish  touched  off  a 

mine  under  the  Maine,  and  we  woke  up,  and  got  up,  and  went  up. 

God   said,   "Up,  go  everywhere,  stay."    We  were  blown   from 

Havana  to  Manila.    We  hardly  knew  where  we  were.     Not  one 


74  THE   CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY   CONVENTION 

in  a  hundred  of  our  adults  even  knew  where  Manila  was.  Some 
of  us  knew  that  there  was  some  little  place  where  some  Manila 
matting  was  made.  Instead  of  wanting  the  Philippines  we  had 
but  the  faintest  idea  of  what  they  were.  When  Dewey  cast  the 
devil  out  of  Manila  we  could  only  say  to  the  Philippines,  "Spain 
we  know  and  China  we  know,  but  who  are  you?"  So  far  from 
coveting  the  Philippines  we  hardly  knew  them  when  we  ran 
against  them  on  the  high  seas.  You  remember  Mazeppa  was 
bound  to  a  wild  horse  and  turned  loose  in  the  desert,  and  he  says : 

"Thus  the  vain  fool  who  strove  to  glut 
His  rage,  refining  on  my  pain, 
Sent  me  forth  to  the  wilderness 
Bound,  naked,  bleeding,  and  alone, 
To  pass  the  desert  to  the  throne." 

So  the  Spaniard  "strove  to  glut  his  rage,"  and  sent  us  forth, 
"bound,  naked,  and  alone,  to  pass  the  desert  to  the  throne."  Thus 
as  of  old  Providence  rules  and  overrules,  and  makes  the  wrath  of 
man  to  praise  him,  and  restraineth  the  remainder  of  his  wrath,  so 
that  all  things  work  together  for  good  to  them  that  love  the  Lord, 
to  us  if  we  love  him  and  keep  his  commandment,  namely,  "Go 
ye  into  all  the  world." 
Two  Gates  of  If  ever  man  or  people  had  greatness  thrust  upon  them,  we  have 
been  so  treated.  The  explosion  under  the  Maine  blew  us  out  of 
our  worn-out  baby  clothes,  blew  us  up  into  the  whole  world  to 
take  up  a  man's  burden  and  do  a  man's  work.  We  were  not  asked 
whether  we  wanted  to  be  born  or  not.  We  were  simply  projected 
into  being  and  told  to  make  the  most  of  it.  There  are  but  two 
gates  through  which  we  can  escape  the  responsibilities  of  being: 
I.  Back  by  the  way  of  inactivity  and  sluggishness,  through  the 
gate  of  imbecility.  2.  Off  to  one  side  by  the  way  of  suicide, 
through  the  gate  of  crime.  We  have  hold  of  the  great  wheel  of 
being,  we  cannot  let  go,  we  must  go  upward  and  onward.  So  we 
were  not  asked  whether  we  wanted  to  take  these  Spanish  colonies 
or  not ;  we  were  simply  blown  up  into  the  top  of  the  world  and 
these  colonies  were  dropped  into  our  lap,  and  we  are  told  to  make 
the  most  of  them.  There  are  but  two  ways  in  which  we  can 
escape  our  responsibilities:  i.  By  putting  on  a  fool's  cap  and 
going  away  back  and  sitting  down  among  the  fools,  whom  nature 
dislikes.    They  always  have  to  take  everybody  else's  dust.    Under 


OUR    OI'l'ORTUNITY  75 

the  great  law  of  nature  only  the  fittest  survive.  2.  By  conmiitting 
hari-kari  to  make  room  for  somebody  else  to  grow  strong,  using 
us  as  a  fertilizer.  We  do  not  want  the  fool's  cap,  nor  are  we  ready 
to  become  mere  fertilizer ;  we  have  not  yet  exhausted  our  divine 
initial  impulse.  Our  last  train  has  not  yet  gone,  leaving  us  behind 
in  the  depot,  helpless.  We  are  not  yet  reduced  to  worn-out  forms 
and  formulas  that  once  embodied  the  experiences  of  living,  ad- 
vancing, heroic  souls.  We  are  in  the  early  morning  of  our 
workday.  Our  golden  sun  of  opportunity  is  just  rising  in  the 
East,  in  the  far  East.  Girding  on  our  armor  in  the  vigor  of 
early  manhood,  we  must  go  forth  to  conquer. 

The  Philippines  present  a  most  inviting  field.  Yesterday  it  The 
was  a  crime  to  own  a  Bible  or  read  it,  for  which  heroic  men  were  ^^»liPPi>ie* 
shot  as  traitors  or  banished  as  enemies  of  the  established  Church. 
To-day  the  Bible  is  free  there  under  a  free  flag.  The  exiles, 
hearing  that  there  is  a  new  flag  over  the  Philippines,  are  coming 
back  and  crowding  our  services.  Eleven  thousand  prisoners  in 
Manila  alone,  condemned  for  offenses  not  known  to  freedom  as 
crimes,  have  been  taken  out  of  the  cells  and  chain  gangs  and 
restored  to  liberty.  Yesterday,  under  the  union  of  Church  and 
State  in  the  Spanish  rule,  neither  property  nor  family  nor  life 
was  safe.  So  bad  was  the  administration  and  so  cruel  the  perse- 
cution that  religion  became  fit  to  be  rejected.  It  is  worse  to  make 
religion  fit  to  be  rejected  than  it  is  afterward  to  reject  it.  Account 
for  the  situation  as  we  may,  the  fact  remains  that  the  most 
thoroughly  hated  creatures  in  the  Philippines  are  the  friars.  No 
matter  what  comes  the  Filipinos  will  not  accept  the  friars.  The 
friars  cannot  return  to  their  churches.  Even  Uncle  Sam's  bayo- 
nets could  not  make  the  people  tolerate  them.  An  officer  asked 
a  prominent  man,  a  Roman  Catholic,  "How  is  it  that  you  have 
so  many  churches  and  no  priests?"  The  man  said,  "We  cannot 
bear  them.  They  cannot  come  back.  Ten  priests  came  back — 
where  are  they?  Ten  from  ten  leaves  nothing.  It  would  take 
a  standing  army  to  keep  them  alive  here."  The  pope  and  his 
advisers  have  made  their  supreme  blunder  in  the  Philippines  by 
keeping  the  friars  there.  The  islands  are  now  wide  open.  Multi- 
tudes of  the  people  are  asking  for  the  simple  Gospel.  The  services 
of  a  single  Sabbath  have,  in  more  than  one  instance,  secured  a 
membership  of  over  one  hundred  communicants,  earnest  seekers. 
There  are  a  thousand  islands,  and  millions  of  people  accessible 


76 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


Porto  Rico 


Great 

Heathen 

Masses 


and  nce(J\ .  Their  need  of  the  Gospel  is  down  to  the  famine  point. 
They  are  turning  toward  Methodism  by  the  thousand.  They 
cannot  go  back.  Their  past  is  full  of  the  world's  direst  specters. 
Fortunes  absorbed  by  a  merciless  hierarchy,  necessities  extorted 
by  merciless  confessors,  families  desolated  by  debauched  hypo- 
crites— these  are  the  specters  that  haunt  the  past  of  the  Filipinos. 
The  return  of  the  old  shepherds,  the  friars,  like  sending  wolves 
among  sheep,  is  only  driving  the  people  to  seek  a  pure  and  en- 
ligiitened  faith.  The  world  never  before  furnished  a  harvest  so 
white  for  the  reapers.  The  door  is  wide  open.  Our  opportunity 
confronts  us.     God  says,  "Give  ye  them  to  eat." 

On  the  other  hand,  here  beckons  Porto  Rico.  It  is  by  our  side. 
It  is  under  our  flag.  It  is  inhaling  our  spirit.  It  is  learning  our 
language.  It  begins  to  think  in  English.  It  is  expanding  under 
our  freedom.  It  is  growing  rich  on  our  capital.  It  is  being 
strengthened  by  our  youth.  It  has  a  past  seared  into  their  very 
flesh  by  the  same  branding  iron  that  has  marked  the  Filipinos. 
They  are  pushed  toward  us  by  a  tornado  of  cruelty.  It  is  for  us 
to  open  before  them  the  broad  welcome  of  a  pure  and  peaceful 
Gospel.  Their  six  or  eight  principal  cities  should  be  seized  by  us 
without  a  month's  delay.  Our  knowable  salvation  and  joyous 
personal  experience  should  be  within  their  reach  at  once,  A 
million  people  in  a  tropical  garden  sure  to  overflow  with  wealth 
calls  to  us.  Our  own  sons  who  are  being  carried  there  by  the 
tides  of  trade  demand  of  us  churches  and  altars  and  Sunday 
schools,  where  they  may  be  nourished  and  kept  in  the  faith  of 
their  fathers.  The  policy  forced  upon  us  by  the  indifference  of 
our  Church  and  the  emptiness  of  our  missionary  treasury  is  a 
policy  of  dwarfs  and  a  disgrace  to  a  great  people  who  could  mul- 
tiply the  two  or  three  men  we  have  there  by  a  hundred,  and  make 
that  island  glad  with  the  songs  of  salvation,  if  only  we  would  open 
their  eyes  to  the  beckoning  hands  and  our  hearts  to  the  call 
of  God. 

Great  and  inviting  and  inspiring  as  are  these  new  fields,  vast 
enough  to  fire  the  ambition  and  inspire  the  zeal  of  every  valiant 
soul,  vast  enough  to  arouse  the  energies  of  any  slumbering 
Giurch,  vast  as  are  these  new  fields  they  are  only  a  narrow  fringe 
on  the  great  unwashed  heathenism  now  spread  out  before  the 
Church.  In  India  and  China  more  than  half  the  human  race  are 
ready  for  evangelization.    If  the  great  heathen  masses  now  upon 


OUR   OPPORTUNITY  t     77 

the  hands  of  the  Church  should  sit  down  to  an  ordinary  dinner, 
and  all  these  new  ungospeled  peoples  of  Porto  Rico  and  of  the 
Philippines  should  undertake  to  wait  upon  them,  there  would  be 
more  than  75,000,000  people  that  these  waiters  could  never  reach. 
The  table,  unserved,  thickly  seated  on  both  sides,  would  extend 
across  all  the  continents  and  over  all  the  seas  of  the  earth.  It 
would  reach  twice  around  the  globe  itself.  These  are  accessible 
and  inviting.  These  are  open  doors.  Open  doors,  did  I  say? 
No,  not  doors !  not  measured  openings  marked  on  the  edges  by 
gaping  hinges — not  doors !  Here  God  has  knocked  off  the  very 
sides  of  the  world,  so  that  anybody  coming  from  anywhere  can 
come  to  the  center.  Here  in  these  uncovered,  exposed  hundreds 
of  millions,  here  are  our  opportunities. 

India  is  under  a  safe  and  stable  government.  India  is  pene-  India 
trated  in  all  directions  by  the  modern  modes  of  travel  and  com- 
munication, so  that  the  available  service  of  the  missionary  is 
extended  to  fifteen  hundred  years  in  length.  He  is  able  to  reach  in 
travel  in  his  thirty  years  as  many  as  he  could  reach  without  these 
appliances  in  fifteen  hundred  years.  India  by  a  new  and  ruling 
people  is  permeated  with  the  spirit  of  a  new  life  and  new  race, 
and  by  her  presses  and  publications  she  multiplies  the  power  and 
instruction  of  her  missionaries  and  teachers  a  thousandfold,  or 
ten  thousandfold.  This  India,  with  her  hundreds  of  millions,  calls 
us,  with  thousands  upon  thousands  asking  for  the  Bible  and  wait- 
ing for  the  Christian  sacraments.  In  the  district  of  a  single 
presiding  elder  ten  thousand  souls  have  made  personal  request 
for  baptism,  to  whom  the  Church  cannot  respond,  because  she 
cannot  find  the  four  dollars  a  month  to  feed  the  readers,  "the 
holders  up,"  to  teach  these  people  the  word  of  God.  Here  is  one 
of  our  opportunities.  Talk  about  chances  to  work  in  the  vineyard. 
Talk  about  investments  that  will  pay  a  hundred  per  cent.  If  only  Good 
the  Church  would  open  her  eyes!  This  great  opportunity,  this  ^"vestments 
great  whitening  harvest,  has  grown  up  from  the  long  decades  of 
scattering  the  seed  of  the  kingdom.  She  has  the  right  of  the 
divine  call  to  this  field,  she  has  the  right  of  original  investment. 
Her  duty  is  measured  only  by  the  measure  of  her  abilities. 

These  fields  must  be  handled  in  detail  by  men  who  have  prayed 
and  toiled  over  them  by  the  span  of  their  lives,  and  have  given  to 
them  the  glory  of  their  manhood.  I  hasten  to  call  your  attention 
to  China,  the  world's  great  field. 


78 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


God"s 
Emphasis 
upon  China 


An  Ancient 
Nation 


If  God  had  undertaken  to  rivet  the  attention  of  the  world  upon 
China  he  could  not  have  done  more  in  this  regard  than  he  has 
done.  The  uninspired  human  mind  can  hardly  conceive  of  a 
solitary  additional  mark  of  emphasis.  Every  startling  thing  that 
we  can  conceive  as  suited  for  such  a  purpose  has  been  substantially 
paralleled  and  set  forth  before  our  very  eyes.  Tell  the  story  of 
this  divine  challenge  to  the  world's  attention  to  China  in  the 
simplest  and  most  matter-of-fact  way,  in  the  plainest  prose,  and 
give  it  to  strangers  as  Homer's  Iliad  and  the  Old  Testament 
are  given  to  us,  and  they  would  say  it  is  a  collection  of  poetical 
inspirations  and  ballads  sung  by  wandering  minstrels,  as  some 
people  characterize  the  epics  of  Homer,  or  that  it  was  a  collection 
of  myths,  as  some  skeptics  characterize  the  books  of  Moses.  Do 
you  want  hoary  antiquity  to  awaken  your  veneration  toward  the 
actors?  The  principal  figure  on  the  stage  is  the  oldest  nation  of 
the  world,  a  people  that  was  an  ancient  people  many  centuries 
before  there  was  any  Saxon,  or  Briton,  or  Gaul,  or  Goth,  or 
Vandal,  or  Roman,  or  Greek;  a  people  that  were  swarming  out 
of  that  old  hive  of  the  race,  Mongolia,  and  coming  down  through 
the  Hankow  Pass  before  Abraham  was  called  or  the  pyramids 
were  built.  Do  you  want  long  lines  of  individual  pedigrees  to 
enrich  and  make  the  bluest  blood  known  among  men  ?  Here  you 
have  individual  pedigrees  that  rise  in  the  ages  in  unbroken  line 
for  more  than  forty  centuries.  Do  you  want  veneration  for 
learning?  Here  you  have  people  that  have  had  competitive  lit- 
erary examinations  for  office  for  more  than  four  thousand  years, 
and  that  can  to-day  furnish  from  a  single  town  more  than  ten 
thousand  competitors  for  a  literary  prize.  Do  you  want  practical 
economies  and  tireless  industries?  Here  you  meet  a  people  that 
can  take  three  crops  a  year  from  the  same  soil,  and  leave  it  as 
rich  as  they  found  it,  and  can  support  in  comparative  comfort 
twice  as  many  people  to  the  square  mile  as  are  famishing  in  the 
valley  of  the  Ganges.  Do  you  want  the  cumulative  interest  that 
inheres  In  vast  numbers  of  one  genus  or  race  under  one  govern- 
ment? Here  you  have  hosts  that  far  exceed  the  combined  hosts 
of  all  the  Americas,  and  all  the  English  and  Scotch  and  Irish,  and 
and  all  the  Germans  of  the  great  German  empire,and  all  the  Rus- 
sians of  the  vast  Russian  empire,  and  all  the  hosts  of  all  the 
kingdoms  of  Europe,  all  put  together.  Do  you  want  ancient  and 
crowded  altars,  where  immortals  feel  after  God,  if  haply  they 


OUR    OPPORTUNITY 


79 


may  find  him?  Here  are  faiths  old  as  the  traditions  of  the  race, 
and  single  characters  worshiped  by  more  people  than  ever  re- 
peated in  prayer  any  other  name  ever  known  among  men.  Surely 
this  Peking  tragedy,  on  the  very  top  of  the  world,  in  the  very  face 
of  the  sun,  and  before  the  very  eyes  of  every  civilized  human 
being,  calls  the  world's  attention  to  China.  God  Almighty  has 
struck  .  the  world  with  the  hammer  of  his  eternal  purpose,  to 
awaken  us  from  our  lethargy.  He  is  saying.  "Awake,  thou  that 
sleepest,  and  see  your  task,  your  burden,  your  opportunity,  and 
your  possible  glory."  If  any  event  or  series  of  events  in  known 
history  may  be  regarded  as  providential,  surely  we  are  safe  in  so 
regarding  the  recent  events  in  China. 

The  deep  needs  of  China  constitute  her  strongest  claim.  As  a  china's  Needs 
mother  gives  her  closest  attention  to  her  sickest  child,  turns  from 
her  prattling  darlings  to  the  one  struggling  for  life  in  the  grip  of 
the  fever,  feeling  that  that  one  needs  her  most,  so  the  great  heart 
of  God  yearns  most  tenderly  over  China,  on  account  of  her  fierce 
and  threatening  maladies,  her  extreme  necessities. 

This  man  in  his  delirium  dismisses  his  physician,  drives  away 
his  nurses,  and  pitches  his  medicine  into  the  sewer.  This  splash 
of  energy  does  not  demonstrate  that  he  does  not  need  medicine 
and  nurses  and  physicians.  It  rather  demonstrates  that  he  has 
the  greatest  possible  need  of  them.  The  worst  type  of  sin,  the 
most  perilous  condition  of  the  sinner,  is  that  described  in  the 
Scriptures  as  being  "seared  with  a  hot  iron."  When  a  man  is 
contented  in  his  depravity  then  he  has  gone  beyond  the  ordinary 
redemptive  agencies.  Then  God  nnist  hasten  after  him  the 
strongest  angels  of  his  afflicting  providence,  and  strike  him  where 
he  lives.  So  it  is  with  nations  and  peoples  and  races.  China  has 
many  signs  of  this  extreme  lostness,  this  seared  numbness. 

Her  conceit  and  vanity  and  ignorance  shut  out  the  truth,  eclipse 
the  sun  of  knowledge,  and  wall  up  the  gates  of  progress.  She  has 
been  so  contented  with  herself  that  nothing  better  could  be  de- 
sired. Their  teachers  declare  their  "moral  code  the  best  the 
human  mind  can  formulate."  All  classes  believe  this  as  firmly  as 
we  believe  in  the  law  of  gravitation.  It  is  to  them  as  certain  as 
any  law  of  nature.  One  of  their  great  emperors,  a  thousand  years 
ago,  said,  "The  teaching  of  the  sages  is  adapted  to  the  Chinese 
as  water  is  adapted  to  fish."  The  relation  of  the  Chinese  to  the 
sages  is  that  of  fish  to  water ;   when  one  dries  up  the  other  dies. 


Her 

Self-content- 
ment 


8o  THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 

It  is  taught  to  the  people  that  foreigners  come  from  a  remote  and 
barren  and  narrow  corner  of  the  earth,  where  they  can  produce 
neither  tea  leaves  nor  rhubarb ;  without  tea  leaves  they  have 
nothing  to  drink,  without  rhubarb  they  are  absolutely  unable  to 
digest  their  food.  They  spread  upon  their  fans  maps  of  the 
world,  in  which  China  covers  four  fifths  of  the  fan,  and  the  other 
fifth  is  assigned  to  the  English,  French,  and  Mohammedans. 
Their  defenses  are  strengthened  by  the  wooden  shutters  in  the 
windows  over  their  city  gates,  and  these  are  decorated  with  paint- 
ings representing  the  muzzles  of  cannon.  One  sees  on  the  sides 
of  their  boats  near  the  prows  painted  eyes.  Sitting  on  the  deck 
of  a  house-boat,  going  up  the  Peiho  one  day,  I  let  my  limbs  hang 
over  the  side  of  the  boat.  They  hung  over  these  painted  eyes. 
Soon  the  boatmen  refused  to  pull  because  the  boat  could  not  see 
where  to  go. 

The  Rule  of  The  ruling  spirit  over  China  is  the  dragon.     It  is  active  in  the 

ragon  feng  shui.  This  means  the  spirit  of  the  earth,  the  sea,  and  the 
air.  It  is  the  embodiment  of  all  superstition.  One  of  the  great 
departments  of  government  is  this  department  of  feng  shui ;  it 
has  a  great  secretary  in  government  council  like  the  Secretary  of 
State  or  of  War.  Its  business  is  to  fix  upon  lucky  days  for  all 
the  movements  and  actions  of  the  emperor,  and  of  all  others  down 
to  the  poorest  cooly;  it  fixes  the  places  for  graves,  for  houses, 
for  windows,  for  chimneys,  for  everything  everywhere.  It  has 
a  service  ramified  throughout  the  empire.  Nothing  goes  on  vvath- 
out  the  approval  of  these  officers,  which  is  secured  by  fees.  On 
one  of  our  buildings  that  once  stood  in  the  old  compound  in 
Peking  I  saw  a  short  chimney,  perhaps  ten  inches  above  the  roof. 
It  was  cut  ofif  by  the  feng  shui.  One  of  the  feng  shui  officers 
told  a  man  whose  door  was  just  opposite  this  chimney,  when  it 
was  the  size  of  the  other  chimneys,  that  unless  that  chimney  was 
shortened  he  would  never  have  any  male  children.  So  our  people 
cut  down  the  chimney  rather  than  have  it  taken  down  by  a  mob. 

Conceit  This  ignorance  and  superstition  is  equaled  only  by  their  conceit. 

They  despise  and  dislike  all  who  are  not  Chinese.  They  do  not 
want  contact  with  the  foreign  devils.  It  was  a  great  triumph  of 
diplomacy  when  an  embassy  was  received  by  China  from  the 
United  States.  President  Polk,  in  the  late  forties,  sent  John  W. 
Davis  as  our  Minister  to  China,  and  the  President  informs  "his 
great  and  good  friend,"  the  emperor,  that  Mr.  Davis  is  to  bear 


OUR  OPPORTUNITY 


8t 


good  wishes  to  him  and  "be  near  your  majesty."  It  is  instructive 
to  know  that  Mr.  Davis  was  received  at  Canton  and  kept  there, 
with  all  other  diplomats,  about  a  thousand  miles  from  Peking. 
No  profane  person  must  ever  approach  the  emperor. 

This  dislike  of  all  foreigners  is  equaled  by  their  utter  lack  of 
patriotism,  the  religion  of  the  state,  and  their  deadness  to  public 
interest.  In  the  war  with  Japan  torpedoes  were  placed  in  the  Min 
River  for  the  protection  of  Foochow.  When  the  war  was  over 
and  the  torpedoes  were  removed  it  was  found  that  some  one  had 
filled  the  torpedoes  with  coal  dirt  and  ashes  and  had  kept  the 
money  furnished  for  powder.  War  vessels  sent  for  the  defense 
of  Shanghai  were  useless,  because  the  officers  had  sold  off  the  new 
cannon  and  rapid-firing  guns  and  had  substituted  wooden  guns. 

There  was  pointed  out  to  me  a  man  who  had  a  contract  to  clean 
out  a  certain  long  sewer  in  Foochow,  that  had  long  been  utterly  Dishonesty 
filled.  The  officers  went  to  inspect  the  work.  The  contractor 
was  required  to  go  through  the  sewer,  entering  at  one  end  and 
coming  out  at  the  other.  He  entered  the  sewer  and  started 
through  it.  The  officers  walked  through  the  street  over  the  sewer 
and  looked  for  the  man  to  come  out  at  the  other  end  of  the  sewer. 
In  a  few  moments  the  officers  saw  him  come  out.  They  were 
satisfied  and  paid  over  the  money.  They  did  not  observe  that  it 
was  the  contractor's  brother  who  came  out  of  the  sewer.  The 
government  and  officials  were  beaten  and  nobody  cared. 

Some  English  officers  practicing  on  a  gimboat  on  the  Yang-tse 
accidentally  knocked  a  hole  in  the  wall  of  one  of  the  cities  along 
the  river.  They  were  alarmed,  and  asked  a  mandarin,  that  is,  an 
officer,  who  was  on  the  gunboat  wath  them  how  they  could  settle 
the  matter.  They  did  not  care  to  be  dismissed  by  England.  The 
mandarin  said,  "That  is  easy  ;  settle  anything  in  China  with  cash." 
The  officers  chipped  in  eight  hundred  taels,  about  a  thousand  dol- 
lars, and  sent  the  mandarin  ashore  to  settle.  At  night  he  returned, 
saying,  "It  is  all  settled,  all  right."  The  officers  were  pleased. 
Some  time  afterward  the  officers  learned  that  the  mandarin  called 
the  principal  men  of  the  town  together  and  told  them  that  unless 
they  gave  him  two  thousand  taels  by  four  o'clock  he  would  have 
their  city  leveled  with  the  ground.  They  raised  the  money  and 
he  returned  happy.  The  deep  want  of  such  a  people  cannot  be 
measured.  The  very  foundations  of  moral  government  must  be 
laid  in  them. 
6 


Official 
Corruptness 


82 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


Lostness 


No 
Compromise 


Itoman 
Catholicism 


The  depravity  and  lostness  of  China  are  far  beyond  any  civilized 
human  conception.  Unaided  by  the  Lord  no  human  faith  and 
ability  could  handle  such  a  problem.  But  God's  ways  are  not  like 
our  ways.  He  does  not  look  for  our  righteousness.  He  knows 
that  that  is  filthy  rags.  He  does  not  feel  for  our  strength.  He 
knows  that  that  is  perfect  weakness. 

God  simply  asks  do  we  need  him.  Our  utter  helplessness  is 
the  prevailing  cry  that  pierces  his  ear.  When  we  owe  ten  thou- 
sand talents  and  have  nothing  to  pay,  then  he  is  drawn  by  the 
magnetism  of  our  lostness  and  freely  forgives  us  all.  When  we 
are  naked  and  famine-stricken,  and  look  toward  him,  then  he 
meets  us  afar  ofif,  puts  upon  us  the  robe  and  the  ring,  and  hugs 
lis  into  patrimony  and  sonship.  The  most  startling  cry  that  ever 
rang  through  the  universe  since  the  agonizing  wail  on  Mount 
Calvary  is  the  concentrated  cry  going  up  out  of  the  unmeasured 
need  of  China.  It  has  the  lungs  of  an  almighty  want.  It  pierces 
the  ear  of  God,  and  it  penetrates  the  deepest  recesses  of  his  aching 
heart.  It  drives  the  tides  of  his  redeeming  mercy  over  the  shore- 
less ocean  of  his  infinite  love.  It  is  this  bottomless  wretchedness 
of  China  that  extorts  the  agonizing  command  from  the  purple 
lips  of  Christ,  "Go  ye  into  all  the  world." 

Christianity  enters  a  country  challenging  every  superstition  and 
defying  all  the  false  gods.  She  has  no  compromise.  She  cannot 
sit  down  in  any  pantheon.  Everything  must  yield  to  her.  When 
the  ark  of  the  covenant  enters  a  temple  all  the  idols  must  fall  on 
their  faces  and  go  into  fragments.  She  cannot  accommodate 
herself  to  ancestral  worship.  While  she  says,  "Honor  thy  father 
and  thy  mother,"  she  cannot  for  one  moment  tolerate  the  worship 
of  father  and  mother.  She  cannot  help  support  tHe  feasts  and 
theatrical  performances  for  the  honor  or  support  of  idolatry.  She 
can  hardly  take  a  step  in  any  direction  that  she  does  not  an- 
tagonize some  superstition.  It  is  not  strange  that  her  representa- 
tives should  soon  be  marked  as  enemies  to  the  convictions  of  the 
common  people.  It  is  only  natural  that  persecution  should  mark 
the  history  of  every  advance  of  Christianity.  It  is  to  the  glory 
of  mission  work  in  China  that  China  is  no  exception  to  this  law. 

This  hostility  has  been  greatly  increased  by  the  assumptions 
and  political  ambitions  of  the  Roman  Catholic  officials.  Their 
bishops  have  assumed  the  rank  of  princes.  They  are  carried  by 
four  bearers  dressed  like  the  bearers  of  high  state  officials.    They 


OUR   OPPORTUNITY  *      83 

demand  the  same  public  consideration.  Chinese  justice  is  pecuHar  Chinese 
and  uncertain.  An  English  resident  of  China  gave  me  this  inci-  '^^*^*<'® 
dent :  A  Chinese  friend  of  his  came  to  him  in  great  distress,  say- 
ing, "The  taotai  (governor)  demands  the  eight  thousand  taels 
he  loaned  me.  Now,  he  never  loaned  me  a  single  cash.  I  fear  I 
am  ruined."  The  Englishman  meeting  him  a  few  weeks  later 
asked  him  how  he  came  out  with  the  taotai.  He  replied,  "I  beat 
him.  I  went  into  court,  admitted  the  debt,  and  proved  that  I  had 
paid  it,"  The  Catholic  Church  has  established  in  every  principal 
mission  center  a  court  for  hearing  and  determining  all  cases  where 
its  members  are  concerned.  The  perversity  and  crookedness  of 
Chinese  justice  is  so  marked  and  general  that  this  extra-terri- 
torial jurisdiction  seems  necessary.  The  Church  naturally  secures 
the  services  of  men  best  versed  in  Chinese  law  to  manage  these 
cases.  As  wild  ducks  will  soon  learn  the  line  near  towns  where 
shooting  is  prohibited  and  seek  shelter  within  these  lines,  so  the 
natives  specially  needing  immunity  from  the  execution  of  justice 
soon  drift  into  these  refuges  and  conform  to  the  required  cere- 
monies for  the  needed  immunity.  Thus  this  imperium  in  imperio 
soon  becomes  a  center  of  irritation.  Officers  prevented  from  pun- 
ishing criminals  come  to  regard  these  asylums  for  criminals,  as 
dangerous  bandits,  menaces  to  the  good  order  of  the  state.  Thus 
it  happens  that  in  the  settlement  of  the  most  alarming  extremities 
to  which  the  Boxer  riots  brought  the  Chinese  government,  one 
of  the  six  items  insisted  upon  by  the  Chinese  in  the  settlement 
was  that  the  Christian  Churches  should  not  admit  to  and  retain 
in  their  folds  notoriously  bad  characters.  Slow  to  distinguish 
between  foreigners,  as  we  may  be  slow  to  distinguish  between 
the  Chinese  of  different  provinces,  or  between  different  individual 
Chinese  men,  the  people  looked  upon  all  foreigners  as  under  the 
same  condemnation.  The  causes  of  irritation  being  always  pres- 
ent, a  possible  outl)urst  was  always  a  standing  menace. 

In  the  face  of  all  this  prolonged  irritation  came  a  pressure  from  Greed  of  the 
„  ,  ,  ,-11.       Nations 

the  great  Powers  that  was  too  heavy  not  to  produce  wide  results. 

The  greed  and  aggressiveness  of  the  Powers  was  urged  by  most 

imperative  motives,  the  struggles  for  supremacy  and  almost  for 

existence.    When  your  Ohio  and  Pennsylvania  men  laid  pig  iron 

and  steel  rails  down  in  Liverpool  and  Berlin  and  Paris  at  a  profit, 

you  opened  the  eyes  of  the  Powers.    They  must  have  cheap  coal 

or  go  to  the  rear  and  yield  commercial  supremacy  to  the  United 


84 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


The  Rush  for 
Territory 


Stirring  of 
the  Depths 


States.  Hence  the  almost  simultaneous  rush  for  the  control  of 
the  great  coal  fields  of  China.  Your  furnaces  made  it  hot  for 
China  more  than  our  missionaries.  The  Boxer  troubles  were  only 
the  foam  on  the  surface  of  a  great  undercurrent  of  mightier 
forces.  Russia  became  possessed  of  Port  Arthur,  with  a  sphere 
of  influence  embracing  Manchuria  and  reaching  well  down  toward 
Peking,  as  an  objective  point  from  which  the  practical  supremacy 
of  Russia  over  China  was  to  be  secured.  Germany  was  reaching 
out  over  Shantung.  France  was  closing  her  hands  over  the  three 
provinces  of  Kuangsi,  Yunnan,  and  Kueichou,  with  a  greed  that 
stretched  far  across  the  continent  to  Szchuen.  England  from 
Shanghai,  where  she  widened  her  holdings,  extended  her  sphere 
of  influence  up  the  Yang-tse  valley.  Japan  from  her  footing  on 
the  island  of  Formosa  counted  upon  the  control  of  the  Fukicn 
Province,  which  fronted  Formosa.  Even  Italy,  with  only  a  germ 
of  possible  commerce,  wanted  Sanmen  port  and  the  Chekiang 
Province.  Only  one  real  and  suitable  port  was  to  be  left  to  China 
herself.  Twenty  great  railroads,  backed  by  rich  concessions  and 
padded  with  Chinese  capital,  were  projected  throughout  the 
Chinese  empire,  from  the  borders  of  Siberia  to  the  borders  of 
Tibet,  and  down  to  the  tropical  forests  of  Burma.  Fifteen  of  the 
eighteen  provincial  capitals  were  thus  made  tributary  to  the 
foreigners.  The  public  and  world-wide  discussion  of  "the  parti- 
tion of  China,"  "the  breaking  up  of  the  Chinese  empire,"  and 
such  themes  quite  extensively  translated  for  Chinese  officials, 
and  filtered  into  the  Chinese  convictions,  made  a  nightmare  too 
heavy  and  alarming  for  the  continued  slumber  of  the  heathen 
giant.  He  groaned  and  rolled  on  his  hard  bed,  and  started  to  his 
feet  in  alarm.  He  looked  about  him  for  some  way  of  escape  or 
defense,  for  something  tangible  to  strike. 

A  vast  literary  antichristian  propaganda  was  put  in  motion, 
consisting  of  books,  pamphlets,  placards,  and  illustrated  sheets 
called  "The  Picture  Gallery,"  repeating  and  multiplying  the 
popular  calumnies  against  the  Christians,  parodying  their  doc- 
trines, giving  deformed  fragments  of  Brahmanism,  Buddhism, 
Mohammedanism,  and  the  teachings  of  the  secret  sects  of  China, 
with  a  profuseness  of  vileness  in  illustration  only  possible  to  an 
imagination  steeped  in  the  pollution  of  sixty  centuries  of  heathen 
licentiousness.  These  were  multiplied  by  the  million,  and  given 
to  all  who  would  take  them.     Printing  and  circulating  them  was 


OUR  OPrORTUNITY 


8; 


a  work  of  merit.  With  these  were  sent  Hsts  and  statements  of  the 
massacres  of  Christians,  and  wild  appeals  to  the  people  to  kill  the 
foreign  pig-goat  devils  and  wipe  out  the  devils'  religion.  The 
magazine  was  widely  and  deeply  laid  under  the  empire.  It  only 
awaited  a  spark.    That  spark  came  from  headquarters. 

In  1898,  three  years  after  the  Japanese  war,  the  emperor  en- 
tered upon  a  career  of  reform  never  surpassed  in  any  country  or 
government,  and  hardly  equaled  by  the  revolutions  wrought  by 
Peter  the  Great  in  Russia,  or  by  the  emperor  of  Japan  in  1867. 
The  disasters  inflicted  by  little  Japan  compelled  many  advanced 
men  in  China  to  reflect ;  among  them  the  emperor  was  awakened 
to  the  situation.  As  the  czar  said  after  the  Crimean  war,  "Russia 
does  not  sulk,  she  meditates,"  so  the  emperor  of  China  did  not 
sulk,  but  he  meditated.  He  was  profoundly  impressed  with  the 
antiquated  and  factitious  condition  of  the  empire.  He  began  a 
most  astonishing  series  of  imperial  edicts  to  clear  away  the  effete 
customs  and  useless  appliances  of  the  government.  He  forbade 
all  extortion  in  raising  money,  asked  for  a  loan  to  which  no  one 
should  subscribe  unless  he  wanted  so  to  invest  his  money.  He 
asked  the  viceroys  to  recommend  men  the  best  qualified  for 
foreign  ministers,  regardless  of  rank.  He  started  to  reorganize 
the  army  after  the  best  Western  models,  and  arm  them  with 
modern  arms.  He  said :  "Our  scholars  are  now  without  solid 
practical  education ;  our  artisans  are  without  scientific  instructors. 
Does  anyone  think  that  in  our  present  condition  he  can  really  say, 
with  any  truth,  that  our  men  are  as  well  drilled  and  as  well  led 
as  those  of  any  of  the  foreign  armies,  or  that  we  can  successfully 
stand  against  any  of  them?"  He  abolished  the  literary  essay  as 
the  standard  for  literary  examinations.  He  ordered  the  establish- 
ment of  a  national  university,  with  colleges  in  the  provinces,  as 
feeders.  He  ordered  that  Western  science  should  be  counted  in 
examination  for  literary  degrees ;  foreign  teachers  were  to  be 
employed  to  teach  the  sciences.  The  temples,  except  those  built 
as  memorials,  should  be  kept  for  schools  for  the  new  learning. 
All  this  meant  the  complete  revolution  of  the  empire  from  the  old 
obsolete  customs  to  the  new  practical  training,  suited  to  modern 
times.  The  nation  was  surprised  and  almost  breathless.  But 
there  was  a  large  minority  of  the  scholars  that  were  ready  to  wel- 
come the  new  life.  In  almost  every  provincial  capital  and  open 
port  book  depots  were  established  for  the  supply  of  standard  litcr- 


A  Career  of 
Reform 


New 
Learning 


S6 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


Breaking 
Down 

Prejudice 


Satan's 
Activity 


Demoniacal 
Possessions 


ature;  books,  educational,  scientific,  and  religious  magazines,  and 
newspapers  were  published  and  circulated ;  lectures  were  de- 
livered and  libraries  started.  Prejudices  were  broken  down  and 
hatred  was  overcome.  The  movement  was  leavening  the  thought 
and  molding  the  minds  of  the  upper  classes.  Even  in  the  remote 
capital  of  Hsi-An-Fu  books  were  purchased  by  all  classes,  from 
the  governor  to  the  humblest  scholar.  The  literati  embraced  the 
new  learning.  The  aristocracy  formed  classes  and  invited  the 
foreigner  to  give  them  "the  light  of  his  learning."  Foreigners 
were  invited  to  visit  the  Confucian  colleges  and  publicly  explain 
the  secret  of  the  success  and  the  source  of  the  energy  of  the  Chris- 
tian nations.  The  emperor  said  he  was  seeking  to  bring  China 
upon  a  level  with  the  great  Western  nations,  and  asked  his  people 
to  sympathize  with  the  movement  and  hear  the  foreign  teachers. 
Everything  was  moving  forward  toward  the  regeneration  of 
China.  Deliverance  from  the  old  order  and  from  the  old  super- 
stitions was  at  the  door.  The  long  campaign  of  the  missionaries 
seemed  about  to  reach  glorious  victory.  Suddenly  we  confront 
the  fiercest  opposition  and  most  bloody  persecution  of  modern 
times. 

The  struggle  for  the  regeneration  of  China  was  a  part  of  the 
irrepressible  conflict.  The  great  enemy  is  not  dead.  He  never 
willingly  abandons  one  inch  of  his  territory.  He  must  be  driven 
back  at  the  hardest,  either  in  the  individual  heart  or  in  the  field 
of  the  world.  Every  advance  of  the,  forces  of  righteousness 
awakens  Satan's  activity.  The  conquest  of  the  world  is  the  sub- 
jugation of  a  rebellious  province  in  the  moral  government. 
Whenever  we  see  the  Church  putting  on  her  strength  and  beauty 
we  must  expect  to  encounter  the  forces  of  evil  at  their  worst. 

The  Scriptures  declare  this  strife.  The  powers  of  darkness 
have  long  had  dominion  in  this  world.  The  conflict  of  the  ages 
has  been  to  overthrow  them.  Whenever  there  has  been  any 
special  movement  among  the  forces  of  righteousness  there  have 
been  special  demonstrations  among  the  evil  forces.  In  New 
Testament  times  demoniacal  possessions  were  common.  Every- 
where Jesus  went  he  encountered  these  enemies.  They  recognized 
his  character  and  mission.  They  would  cry  out,  'T  know  thee; 
thou  art  the  Son  of  the  living  God."  At  the  marked  turns  in  the 
life  of  Jesus  he  had  special  conflicts  with  the  devil.  When  he 
reached  the  turn  in  his  earthly  career,  when  he  went  into  his 


OUR  OPPORTUNITY 


87 


Christianity 


divine  mission  and  was  entering  upon  his  ministry,  then  he  was 
led  away  into  the  wilderness  by  the  Spirit,  to  be  tempted  of  the 
devil.  When  his  work  was  well  advanced  so  he  could  send  out 
seventy  to  preach  his  presence  and  power,  the  disciples  returned, 
saying,  "Even  the  devils  are  subject  unto  us  in  thy  name."  That 
was  a  great  forward  movement ;  the  powers  of  the  spiritual  king- 
dom could  be  handled  by  men.  The  kingdom  of  darkness  could 
now  be  overthrown.  Men,  mortal  men,  had  become  so  matured 
in  spiritual  warfare  that  even  the  devils  must  yield  to  them,  must 
make  way  for  them.  Jesus  counted  that  a  great  victory.  He 
said,  "I  beheld  Satan  as  lightning  fall  from  heaven."  Once 
when  Jesus  prayed,  "Father,  glorify  thy  name,"  there  came  a  voice 
from  heaven  saying,  "I  have  both  glorified  it,  and  will  glorify  it 
again.  .  .  .  Now  is  the  judgment  of  this  world:  now  shall  the 
prince  of  this  world  be  cast  out."     (John  xii,  28-31.) 

When  Christianity  is  introduced  into  a  heathen  country  with   Opposition  to 
power,  then  the  devil  comes  to  the  public  attention,  and  men  seem 
to  act  as  if  possessed  of  the  devil,  act  as  they  did  in  New  Testa- 
ment times. 

When  the  Baptists  went  into  Burma,  and  that  remarkable  work 
of  grace  was  started,  their  missionaries  encountered  the  same 
opposition ;  men  acted  as  they  did  of  old,  when  possessed  of  the 
devil.  In  the  Foochow  Conference,  when  I  held  it  sixteen  years 
ago,  there  were  demonstrations  of  evil  possession  similar  to  those 
recorded  in  the  New  Testament.  It  had  been  the  greatest  year 
the  missions  had  ever  had.  I  spent  two  days  with  interpreters, 
examining  the  native  preachers  concerning  these  strange  phe- 
nomena. They  agreed  almost  exactly  with  statements  of  the  New 
Testament.  When  a  case  developed  to  disturb  the  society  or  its 
members  the  pastor  would  call  the  presiding  elder  and  the  official 
men  together  to  pray  over  the  victims.  They  would  pray  in  the  Response  to 
name  of  Jesus  and  order  the  evil  spirit  to  depart,  and  the  spirit 
would  depart,  and  the  victim  would  be  quiet,  clothed,  and  in  his 
right  mind.  I  will  repeat  one  of  many  cases.  A  woman,  whose 
husband  was  an  earnest  Christian,  came  with  him  into  the  church 
as  a  seeker.  Her  mother  died.  She  wanted  a  heathen  funeral. 
The  husband  wanted  a  Christian  funeral;  she  became  violent, 
smashed  up  the  furniture,  and  could  not  be  restrained.  The  man 
sent  for  a  cousin  of  the  woman.  This  cousin  was  a  professional 
wrestler,  a  man  of  enormous  size  and  strength.    She  said  to  her 


Prayer 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


The  Boxer 

Excitement 


The  Empress 
Dowager 


husband :  "I  know  what  you  have  done ;  you  have  sent  for  my 
cousin  ;  he  is  coming ;  I  see  him  over  the  mountain.  He  will  be 
here  in  about  an  hour ;  you  see  what  I  will  do  to  him."  She  was 
a  small  woman,  not  weighing  ninety  pounds ;  the  wrestler  was  a 
giant  and  trained  in  rough  and  tumble  wrestling.  When  he  came 
in  she  seized  him  and  doubled  him  up  and  threw  him  out  of  the 
house,  and  over  the  fence.  The  pastor  and  official  members  came 
together  and  prayed  over  her,  and  ordered  the  evil  spirit  out  of 
her  in  the  name  of  Jesus,  and  she  was  quiet  from  that  hour.  It  is 
the  irrepressible  conflict  running  through  all  the  ages.  The  Boxer 
trouble  seems  like  another  manifestation  of  the  same  hostility  that 
has  been  encountered  everywhere. 

Groups  of  girls  from  tw^elve  to  twenty,  the  time  when  accord- 
ing to  Chinese  custom  and  all  common  sense  girls  need  special 
seclusion  and  care,  dressed  in  red  throughout,  going  to  the  temple 
to  exercise  in  the  Boxers'  drill  with  low  men  of  the  ruder  sort, 
singing  their  incantations  till  they  are  wild,  crying,  ''Kill,  kill," 
and  clutching  swords  and  any  weapons  and  trying  to  kill  anybody 
within  reach — these  groups,  running  from  village  to  village 
among  an  ignorant  and  superstitious  people,  are  firebrands  well 
calculated  to  spread  the  excitement.  It  is  not  strange  that  they 
proved  good  instruments  for  Satan's  use.  When  the  Boxers 
under  their  excitement  had  passed  through  the  trance  state  they 
believed  themselves  invulnerable  to  sword  or  spear  or  bullet. 
This  superstitious  acceptance  of  the  supposed  supernatural  spirit 
operated  powerfully  upon  all  classes.  Even  the  empress  dowager, 
in  the  great  council  of  her  princes,  maintained  that  these  trained 
Boxers  were  invulnerable  to  bullet  or  sword  or  spear.  Prince 
Yuan  said:  "Yesterday  I  saw  the  ground  before  the  legation 
defenses  thickly  strewn  with  dead  bodies  of  their  leaders.  It  is 
impossible  that  they  are  invulnerable."  She  interrupted  him, 
saying,  "The  bodies  you  saw  must  have  been  not  Boxers,  but  out- 
laws." This  infection,  with  such  indorsement,  spread  rapidly. 
Crime  became  the  instinct.  The  people,  especially  the  lower 
classes,  had  a  delirium  of  cruelty  and  slaughter.  Satan  reigned 
supreme.  The  objective  point  of  his  campaign  was  the  death  of 
all  Christians  and  the  utter  wiping  out  of  all  Christianity. 

The  reform  edicts  by  the  emperor  made  him  the  center  of  a 
work  of  righteousness.  He  was  calling  about  him  advanced  men. 
The  old  conservative  men  were  being  retired  and  dismissed.    This 


OUR   OPrORTUNITY 


89 


compacted  them  about  the  empress  dowager.  The  emperor  knew 
the  opposition  he  had  to  overcome.  He  was  aware  of  the  machi- 
nations of  the  empress  dowager.  He  rehed  upon  one  of  his  Reliance 
generals,  Yuan  Shih  Kai,  at  the  head  of  twelve  thousand  five  General 
hundred  soldiers,  who  had  been  drilled  by  a  German  master,  and 
were  the  most  reliable  of  all  soldiers,  to  keep  the  empress  dowager 
in  her  palace.  But  his  general  betrayed  him.  The  empress  dow- 
ager assembled  the  powerful  relatives,  and  demanded  the  abdica- 
tion of  the  emperor.  The  aggressions  of  the  Powers  trying  to 
partition  China  inspired  the  conservatives  and  gave  them  powerful 
arguments,  and  alarmed  the  progressive  friends  of  the  emperor. 
In  the  critical  hour  he  was  deserted.  The  conservatives  came  to 
the  front.  The  empress  dowager  seized  the  emperor's  signet  ring, 
the  emperor  was  imprisoned,  the  advanced  men  were  chased  out 
of  China  or  killed,  the  edicts  for  reform  were  nullified,  the  enemies 
of  the  foreigners  were  placed  in  power,  the  Boxers  were  encour- 
aged by  the  empress  dowager,  the  missionaries  were  killed  or 
driven  to  places  of  refuge,  their  native  converts  were  butchered, 
and  the  clock  of  Chinese  progress  was  stopped  for  a  season — but 
only  for  a  season.  As  one  of  the  advisers  of  the  emperor,  with 
five  noble,  able,  and  patriotic  young  companions,  was  seized  and 
executed,  he  said,  "We  can  easily  be  slain,  but  multitudes  of  others 
will  arise  to  take  our  places."  The  day  of  their  execution,  Sep- 
tember 28,  1898,  will  yet  be  celebrated  by  the  patriots  of  redeemed 
China  as  the  "Day  of  the  Six  Martyrs." 

The  disturbances  and  Boxer  persecutions  furnish  most  encour-  signs  of  Hope 
aging  signs.  As  the  demons,  when  ordered  out  of  their  victims 
by  the  Saviour,  would  sometimes  tear  and  wound  their  victims 
before  coming  out,  so  this  delirium  of  rage  indicates  the  pressure 
of  great  spiritual  power  that  precipitates  and  intensifies  the  con- 
flict. Satan,  seeing  that  his  reign  is  short,  rages.  We  can  see 
that  the  forces  of  righteousness  are  neither  dead  nor  sleeping. 
Already  signs  of  hope  are  seen  in  the  earth  and  streams  of  light 
are  illumining  the  Eastern  sky.  The  strong  hand  of  the  Christian 
nations  has  been  felt.  The  emperor  in  a  critical  and  decisive 
council  of  the  Chinese  princes,  protesting  against  the  policy  of 
the  empress  dowager  and  the  conservatives,  cried  out,  "If  China 
is  to  fight  the  world,  will  it  not  put  an  end  to  China  ?"  The  great- 
ness of  the  Powers  has  been  felt.  The  conviction  of  the  emperor 
has  taken  possession  of  the  people;    their  feelings  are  greatly 


90 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


The  Coming 
of  a  Great 
Change 


Argument  of 
Sacrifice 


changed.  The  experiences  that  followed  the  Sepoy  mutiny  have 
been  repeated.  There  before  the  war  the  lowest  servant  could 
insult  a  foreigner,  but  after  the  victories  of  General  Havelock  it 
was  impossible  to  mass  enough  natives  to  resist  a  single  squad  of 
British  soldiers.  Dr.  Butler  was  in  the  great  bazaar  in  Calcutta; 
it  was  crowded  with  throngs  of  natives.  Two  British  soldiers 
entered  the  bazaar,  when  the  natives  fled  in  utmost  terror.  In  a 
moment  they  had  all  vanished.  Half  a  century  has  failed  to 
resuscitate  the  old  insolent  spirit.  So  it  is  now  in  China.  Before 
the  capture  of  Peking,  the  flight  of  the  imperial  family  and  court, 
and  the  punishment  of  the  Boxer  leaders,  children  or  coolies  were 
bold  to  insult  foreign  pig-goat  devils,  but  now  a  great  change  has 
come  over  them ;  a  great  light  has  shone  in  upon  those  who  sat  in 
darkness.  Before  the  fall  of  the  Boxers  the  word  "foreign"  was 
so  odious  that  it  had  to  be  taken  off  from  every  article  of  com- 
merce or  trade  that  could  not  be  dispensed  with.  Foreign  drilling 
had  to  be  called  "fine  cloth,"  foreign  rifles  "knobbed  guns," 
foreign  matches  "quick  fire,"  and  foreign  things  that  were  indis- 
pensable had  to  be  rechristened.  After  the  capture  the  Chinese 
were  eagerly  and  ostentatiously  seeking  and  wearing  foreign 
clothes ;  all  classes  learned  the  military  salute ;  the  smallest  chil- 
dren performed  the  salute  before  everyone  passing  by.  Even 
beggar  women  covered  one  eye,  taking  that  for  the  proper  salute. 

There  is  a  still  deeper  and  more  abiding  influence  working 
among  the  people  of  all  classes.  The  age-long  argument  of 
sacrifice  that  has  never  been  unhitched  from  its  legitimate  con- 
clusion results  in  lifting  China  to  higher  levels.  It  is  still  true, 
as  in  the  days  of  Roman  emperors,  that  the  blood  of  the  martyrs  is 
the  seed  of  the  Church.  The  lives  and  deaths  of  the  native  Chris- 
tians were  exhibited  before  men  and  angels.  The  native  Christians 
were  not  considered  by  the  foreign  soldiers  in  Peking  as  any 
part  of  their  charge.  No  provision  was  made  for  their  protection 
or  safety.  True,  they  were  butchered  at  sight  everywhere,  but 
the  foreign  officials  did  not  assume  or  feel  any  responsibility  for 
them.  The  missionaries  threw  over  them  their  shield,  and  made 
room  for  them  in  the  sacred  inclosures  of  the  legation  grounds. 
It  was  soon  found  that  they  were  not  like  other  Chinese.  While 
heathen  servants  fled  on  the  approach  of  danger,  these  men  and 
women  stayed  by  their  friends.  They  took  their  turn  by  the  loop- 
holes with  the  guns.     They  stood  guard  in  dangerous  places. 


OUR   OPPORTUNITY 


91 


Fidelity  of 

Native 

Christians 


They  toiled  in  all  kinds  of  hard  service  without  a  niurniur.  They 
made  the  continuance  of  the  defense  possible.  Even  the  Japanese 
heartily  commended  them,  and  the  common  soldiers  felt  that  some 
great  change  had  been  wrought  in  them.  It  became  a  general 
conviction  that  unless  these  had  stayed  within  the  legation  de- 
fenses none  had  been  saved. 

The  fidelity  of  the  native  Christians  is  a  world-wide  wonder. 
Some  servants  sent  away  to  places  of  safety  returned  on  the  eve 
of  a  riot,  saying  simply,  'T  heard  that  you  were  to  be  attacked 
to-night,  and  I  thought  I  ought  to  be  here  to  help  you."  When 
missionaries  had  been  robbed  and  were  destitute,  in  the  midst  of 
murderous  enemies,  the  native  Christians  would  hunt  them  up 
and  give  them  what  money  they  had,  one  saying,  "As  long  as  I 
have  anything,  of  course  I  will  share  it  with  you."  A  native  Bap- 
tist Christian  in  Shansi  was  taken  to  see  the  missionaries  die ;  as 
they  approached  the  hiding  place,  though  certain  it  would  cost 
him  his  life,  he  cried  out,  giving  warning  to  his  pastor,  and  was 
instantly  struck  down.  The  manner  in  which  the  native  Chris- 
tians endured  torture  and  met  death  was  a  perpetual  surprise  to 
their  persecutors.  Converts  gave  the  greatest  testimony  ;  teacher 
Lieu,  of  Fenchou  Fu,  sat  quietly  fanning  himself  as  he  was  ex- 
pecting the  murderers,  and  he  met  them  and  death  with  a  smile. 

When  the  Boxers  visited  a  village  they  ordered  the  people  to  The  Pathos 
point  out  the  Christians,  and  this  was  promptly  done  to  save  them-  °  r  yr  cm 
selves.  The  Christians,  set  off  by  themselves,  their  heathen 
neighbors  being  either  afraid  to  befriend  them  or  willing  to  share 
in  the  loot,  would  gather  at  their  little  chapels.  The  Boxers  would 
surround  them  and  press  in  upon  them;  the  murderers  would 
offer  them  life  if  they  would  deny  Jesus,  or  bow  to  the  idols. 
There  they  are.  See  them,  the  Christians,  men,  women,  and 
children,  all  crowded  together.  Look  at  them :  there  they  stand. 
The  little  girls  are  clinging  to  their  mother ;  the  Boxers  bind  the 
father,  and  say,  "Deny  Jesus  or  w-e  will  kill  you."  The  father 
shakes  his  head ;  the  mother  cries,  "Spare  my  children."  A  rough, 
bloody  man,  with  a  knife  in  his  hand,  seizes  a  little  girl  twelve 
years  old,  and  tears  her  away  from  the  mother.  She  springs  for 
her  darling.  The  man  asks,  "Will  you  deny?  will  you  deny?" 
She  cries,  "O  Lord  Jesus,  help;  I  cannot  deny."  The  brute 
tramples  the  little  thing  under  his  feet,  rips  open  her  body,  tears 
out  the  still  beating  heart,  crowds  it  into  the  mother's  mouth,  say- 


92  THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 

ing,  "If  you  will  not  deny  your  Jesus,  take  that."  The  fiends  cut 
and  slash  the  crying  children,  while  the  parents  say,  "Lord,  help 
and  save."  The  mother  is  knocked  down  and  dragged  around 
by  the  fiends  before  the  helpless  husband  and  father,  who  prays, 
"Lord  Jesus,  receive  us,  while  we  witness  for  thee,  thy  humble 
servants."  They  bind  him  to  a  post  and  hack  away  his  flesh  little 
by  little.  He  stands  before  his  tortured  and  murdered  family  and 
dies,  saying,  "Lord  Jesus,  have  mercy  on  them,  and  help  them  to 
see  thee  and  thy  truth."  A  single  word  would  have  saved  his 
children  and  his  wife  and  his  own  life,  but  he  would  not  utter 
that  word.  It  was  not  strange  that  these  persecutors  should,  as 
was  often  done  to  others,  cut  out  this  man's  heart  and  examine  it 
to  find  the  secret  of  his  heroism  and  devotion.  Jesus  Christ  is 
preached  in  that  village  and  will  be  forever ;  he  is  there  in  person ; 
it  is  not  possible  for  him  to  be  absent  when  his  heroic  children  are 
bearing  such  testimony,  and  are  ascending  to  the  martyr's  throne. 
Hear  him  say,  "Lo,  I  am  with  you  alway,  even  unto  the  end  of 
the  world."  I  can  see  him  crowding  past  the  murderers,  soothing 
into  numbness  the  nerves  of  the  little  girl  and  her  mates,  giving 
The  Comfort-  infinite  comfort  to  the  mother  as  she  sees  him  soothing  her 
ing     ris  darlings ;    and  I   see  him  steadying  the  courage  of    the  father 

as  he  opens  before  him  and  his  family  heaven  and  eternal  blessed- 
ness, and  whispers  to  him,  "It  is  granted  unto  you  and  yours 
to  enter  into  my  sufferings,  and  to  make  up  something  of  my 
sufferings  that  are  behind  in  the  world's  redemption." 
This  sacrifice  was  repeated  in  China  two  thousand  times  during 
those  weeks  while  our  missionaries  were  manning  the  barracks 
yonder  in  Peking.  I  have  thought  Jesus  was  absent  from  court 
those  weeks,  and  his  tall  and  swift  angels  were  busy  those  weeks 
bearing  home  those  blood-washed  saints.  Those  were  gala  days 
in  the  home  city.  I  hear  the  sentinel  angels  shout,  "Here  they 
come  with  another  group,"  and  the  patriarchs  and  the  prophets 
and  apostles  sweep  out  as  the  great  gates  of  the  city  swing  wide 
open  to  bid  them  welcome.  I  hear  St.  John  say,  "Come,  you 
children;  you  did  not  know  much  of  the  great  studies  of  the 
Church  on  earth,  but  you  did  know  that  the  Son  of  man  hath 
power  on  earth  to  forgive  sins,  and  you  have  come  up  out  of  great 
tribulation  and  have  washed  your  robes,  and  made  them  white  in 
the  blood  of  yonder  Lamb.  Join  the  great  company  which  no  man 
can  number,  and  enter  into  the  joy  of  your  Lord." 


OUR   OPPORTUNITY  ^         93 

The  great  argument  from  these  martyrdoms  has  permeated  the   A  New 
Chinese  mind  to  its  darkest  recesses.     The  Spirit  of  God  has  ^•S™« 
burned  these  great  sermons  into  the  convictions  of  all  classes.    A 
judgment  throne  has  been  set  up  in  each  man's  conscience.     The 
old  systems  are  weighed  in  the  l^alance  and  found  wanting.     The 
sentence  of  the  Supreme  Judge  has  doomed  the  idolatries  to  death. 
The    conservative    leaders    have    been    superseded.     The    large 
minorities  of  progressive  scholars  and   statesmen   are  asserting 
themselves.      The   empress   dowager,    avenged   on    her   personal 
enemies,  freed  from  the  Boxer  leaders,  impressed  with  nearness 
and  greatness  of  the  Christian  nations,  surrounded  by  better  ad- 
visers, is  entering  upon  the  work  of  reform.    She  is  taking  up  the 
role  of  the  dethroned  emperor ;   by  edict  she  is  promulgating  the 
great  reforms  in  education.     Universities  and   colleges   will  be 
created.     Christian  men  are  being  sought  as  teachers.     Clubs  of 
scholars  are  being  organized  to  cultivate  and   spread   Western 
knowledge.     Multitudes  are  inquiring  into  the  new  religion.     It   Multitudes  of 
is  estimated  that  many  thousand  Chinese  are  now  earnestly  inquir-     '^l^^'^^^^ 
ing  concerning  Christianity.     All  classes  are   feeling  the  great 
argument  that  has  been  made  in  their  presence.     The  spiritual 
lethargy  of  centuries  is  being  disturbed.     These  fierce  upheavals, 
that  seem  to  threaten  the  very  existence  of  society  itself,  are  only 
the  crude  displays  of  spiritual  forces.     It  is  an  old  law  asserting 
itself.    The  very  persecutions  that  have  strengthened  the  Church 
in  all  ages  are  bearing  the  richest  fruit.    China  is  vv'ide  open.    By 
all  the  breadth  of  her  vast  territory,  by  all  the  length  of  her  un- 
measured antiquity,  by  all  the  millions  of  her  uncounted  hosts,  by 
all    her   cruel    and    bloody    superstitions,    by    all    the    loathsome 
abominations  of  her  unregenerated  heathenism,  by  all  the  anguish 
of  God's  Son  in  yonder  garden  and  all  his  agony  on  yonder  cross, 
by  all  the  tides  that  sweep  across  the  shoreless  sea  of  God's  infinite 
love,  and  by  the  surging  sorrows  in  his  aching  heart,  he  calls  upon 
us,  saying,  'The  doors  are  wide  open,  enter  in  and  possess  the 
land.    Lo,  I  will  go  with  you  and  encamp  about  you,  and  nothing 
shall  by  any  means  harm  you;    I  am  with  you  alway,  and  will 
bring  you  off  more  than  conqueror.    O,  my  America !   what  have 
I  not  done  for  you?    I  have  saved  you  from  baptized  heathenism. 
I  have  kept  you  from  the  great  superstitions.     I  have  lifted  you 
to  the  very  heavens  in  the  widest  freedom.    I  have  enriched  you 
with  more  than  half  the  world's  wealth.     I  have  exalted  you  to 


94  THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 

the  highest  seat  in  the  world's  great  council.  I  have  poured  upon 
you  the  full  light  of  wisdom  till  your  daughters  are  the  brides  of 
princes  and  your  sons  are  the  counselors  of  kings.  What  more 
could  I  do  for  you  ?  O,  my  Methodism,  I  turn  to  you  in  this  day 
The  Day  of  of  opportunity.  I  have  called  you  out  of  darkness.  I  have  in- 
Opportunity  trusted  you  with  my  most  secret  wish.  I  have  commissioned  you 
to  proclaim  a  knowable  salvation.  I  have  multiplied  your  num- 
bers beyond  all  precedent.  I  have  crowded  your  borders  with 
schools  and  colleges,  and  have  filled  your  homes  with  scholars  and 
believers.  I  have  thrust  upon  you  the  blessings  of  both  earth  and 
heaven.  Now  I  turn  to  you.  I  call  upon  you ;  arise,  put  on  your 
strength ;  follow  me  into  these  wide  open  fields.  Do  not  let  these 
doors  of  opportunity  shut  in  your  face.  I  will  go  with  you.  Bring 
ye  all  the  tithes  into  the  storehouse,  that  there  may  be  meat  in 
mine  house,  and  prove  me  now  if  I  will  not  open  the  windows  of 
heaven  and  pour  you  out  a  blessing  that  there  shall  not  be  room 
enough  to  receive  it.  I  will  pour  out  my  Spirit  upon  all  flesh,  and 
your  sons  and  your  daughters  shall  prophesy.  And  it  shall  come 
to  pass  that  whosoever  shall  call  on  the  name  of  the  Lord  shall  be 
saved,  and  a  nation  shall  be  born  in  a  day."  O  God,  if  thou  canst 
forgive  our  unbelief  and  our  stumbling  at  the  exceeding  greatness 
and  preciousness  of  thy  promises,  our  ease  in  Zion,  our  lack  of 
sacrifices  for  the  cause  for  which  thou  hast  sacrificed  thy  Son — if 
thou  wilt  forgive  all  our  sins  we  will  do  better;  we  will  follow 
wherever  thou  wilt  lead. 


"THE   WORDS   ARE    SPIRIT   AND    LIFE" 

The  Rev.   W.   I.   Haven,  D.D. 

A  Wide-  "The  words  that  I  speak  unto  you,  they  are  spirit,  and  they  are 

spread  life."     Where    are  these    wonderful    words    of     our    Lord    and 

Message 

Saviour?    Where  are  these  words  that  he  gave  to  the  multitude 

that  was  hungry  for  bread  ?    Where  are  these  words  that  he  gave 

to  a  populace  that  was  eager  to  make  him  a  king?    They  passed 

out  into  the  Syrian  air,  where  are  they?     I   know  that  John 

Ruskin  says  that  it  is  not  adequate  to  describe  the  Holy  Scriptures 

as    the  word    of     God ;     that    the  .word  of     God    is    something 

mightier,  living  in  the  life  of  the  universe,  and  revealing  itself 

in  all  the  life  of  the  Church.     But  I  make  no  mistake  when  I  sav 


THE   BIBLE   AT    THE    HEART   OF    MISSIONS 


95 


that,  guided  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  those  words  that  passed  out  on 
that  Eastern  atmosphere  were  gathered  up  by  inspired  men  and 
placed  within  the  covers  of  this  volume  that  the  centuries  have, 
not  without  good  reason,  called  the  word  of  God. 

And  what  a  theme  it  would  be  to  speak  to  you  this  morning  of  The  Bible  and 
this  word  as  spirit  and  life  in  all  the  activities  of  mankind.  But 
I  have  a  simple  theme — "The  Relation  of  the  Bible  to  the  Heart  of 
Christian  Missions."  The  Bible  has  been  a  mighty  factor  in 
Christian  missions,  because  the  Bible  is  charged  with  a  world- 
consciousness.  I  know  there  are  those  that  pretend  to  love  and 
read  the  Bible  who  never  look  outside  the  circle  of  their  own 
home  or  their  own  parish,  but  I  have  to  doubt  at  this  mo- 
ment whether  they  are  really  lovers  of  the  word  of  God. 
For  the  open  Bible  is  an  open  window  unto  all  the  earth. 
There  is  no  book  like  it.  It  says,  "The  earth  is  filled  with  the 
glory  of  God."  It  says,  "The  shields  of  the  earth  belong  unto 
God."  It  says  that  "God  so  loved  the  world  that  he  gave  his  only 
begotten  Son."  And  there  is  that  upper  room  where  the  group 
of  disciples  is  gathered  around  the  Saviour,  and  at  that  hour 
Jestis,  bowing  down,  prays  these  remarkable  words,  "Father,  as 
thou  has  sent  me  into  the  world,  even  so  have  I  also  sent  them  into 
the  world."  I  have  recently  come  across  a  statement  that  beauti- 
fully illustrates  this  world-consciousness  of  the  Bible.  They  say 
that  the  paper  out  of  which  the  choicest  Bibles  are  made  is 
manufactured  from  the  sails  of  ships  that  have  mellowed  their 
sails  in  every  clime;  and  so  the  book  itself  given  to  mankind 
on  this  paper  is  filled  with  the  atmosphere  of  all  seas  and  all 
lands. 

In  this  book  there  is,  too,  a  description  of  the  world-need. 

"The  whole  world  lieth  in  wickedness."    And  in  this  book  there 

is  the  world  command,  "Go  ye  out  into  all  the  world  and  disciple 

all  nations." 

It  therefore  is  not  strange  that  the  Bible  has  been  the  one   An  Inspira- 

,  .   ,      ,  .     .  .  f  .  1       /-I         11  tion  to  Service 

volume  out  of  which  the  great  missionaries  of  the  Church  have 

received  their  inspiration  to  service.     I  believe  if  you  could  look 

into  the  heart  of  every  missionary  that  has  vitally  touched  this 

world,  you  would  find  that  there  has  been  at  the  beginning  of  his 

consecration  an  intimate  contact  with  the  Scripture.    Gilmour,  of 

Mongolia,  tells  us  that  when  he  was  graduated  from  college  and 

when  he  came  to  the  hour  of  decision  as  to  where  he  should  place 


96 


THE   CLEVELAND   MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


A  Pastor's 
Purpose 


A  Chinese 
Convert 


Direct 

Converting 

Power 


his  ministry,  he  thought  that  he  could  do  more  effective  work  in 
the  foreign  field  simply  from  prudential  reasons,  because  there 
was  only  one  missionary  there  to  many  thousands,  while  there 
were  many  ministers  at  home  to  few  thousands.  But,  he  said, 
prudential  reasons  had  little  to  do  with  it,  "there  rang  in  my  soul 
the  message,  'Go,  preach,'  and  the  same  message  that  said 
'Preach,'  said  'Go.'  " 

In  Norway,  at  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth  century,  there 
was  a  pastor  in  a  little  village  church,  with  his  household  about 
him,  whose  mind  was  beginning  to  be  touched  with  a  larger  out- 
look. One  day,  thinking  of  Greenland  and  the  people  over  there, 
his  eyes  fell  upon  the  Gospel  passage,  "He  that  taketh  not  his 
cross,  and  followeth  after  me,  is  not  worthy  of  me."  He  turned 
to  his  Lord  and  said,  "I  am  ready,  I  will  leave  it  to  the  time  when 
my  wife  is  ready."  Not  many  years  after,  she  came  to  her  hus- 
band and  said,  "I  am  ready.  Whither  thou  goest  I  will  go;  thy 
people  shall  be  my  people,  and  thy  God  my  God." 

So  it  was  the  same  with  one  of  our  earliest  Christian  converts 
in  our  Chinese  mission  in  South  China,  Hu  Yong  Mi.  He  was 
troubled  with  doubts  and  fears.  He  went  to  Dr.  Mackay,  who 
told  him  that  he  often  read  his  Bible  upon  his  knees  when  he  was 
trovibled  with  perplexities.  The  Chinaman  went  upon  his  knees 
and  read  his  Bible.  He  was  a  painter  by  trade,  but  he  tells  us 
that  he  painted  with  his  right  hand  and  kept  the  Scriptures  at 
his  left  that  he  might  study  them  while  he  worked.  Finally  he 
said,  "It  came  to  me  that  I  must  leave  all  other  work  and  go  and 
dedicate  myself  to  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel,  for  the  words 
were  burned  into  my  soul,  'Out  of  his  belly  shall  flow  rivers  of 
living  waters,'  and  only  in  that  way  could  I  fulfill  that  Scripture." 
For  thirty  years  he  lived  and  labored  and  rejoiced  and  went  to 
glory,  obedient  to  the  impulse  that  came  from  the  divine  book. 

The  Bible  is  at  the  heart  of  Christian  missions,  because  the 
Bible  is  the  great  helper  of  the  missionary  in  all  his  undertakings. 
It  goes  before  him  and  prepares  the  way.  I  could  exhaust  every 
minute  that  is  given  me  this  morning,  showing  that  the  Scriptures 
themselves  have  direct  converting  power ;  that  scattered  broad- 
cast among  the  peoples  they  turn  men  to  righteousness  and  per- 
suade souls  to  the  glory  of  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord.  The  Rev.  Dr.. 
Brown,  a  Presbyterian  missionary  for  many  years  in  South 
America,  has  recently  written  a  volume  called  Latin  America, 


THE    BIBLE   AT    THE    HEART    OF    MISSIONS  97 

and  in  it  he  gives  this  statement  concerning  the  early  work  of  onr 
Dr.  Kidder  in  Brazil.  He  says :  "Dr.  Kidder  sent  many  Scriptures 
out  into  the  country.  One  of  these  Bibles  fell  into  the  hands  of 
a  young  man  who  became  enough  interested  in  it  to  travel  sixty 
miles  to  a  priest  to  try  and  compare  it  with  what  he  called  the 
official  Scriptures,  to  see  if  it  was  like  it.  He  got  to  the  priest, 
and  the  priest  said,  'If  you  can  find  the  book  in  my  house,  you  are 
entirely  welcome  to  study  it,  but  I  do  not  know  where  it  is.'  He 
rummaged  around  a  day  or  two,  found  the  book  and  that  his  was 
sufficiently  like  it,  and  started  on  his  journey  home.  Years  after-  Working  of 
ward  travelers  went  up  into  that  region  and  found  there  a  *^®  Leaven 
Christian  church,  with  members,  some  of  whom  preached  regu- 
larly, some  of  whom  cared  for  the  sick  and  the  poor,  with  a  rule 
of  living  and  doctrine  that  was  simple  and  pure ;  and  that  church 
had  become  the  mother  of  other  churches  also,  and  not  a  Protes- 
tant missionary  had  ever  entered  that  region."  Mr.  Tucker,  of 
Brazil,  has  recently  published  a  volume  called  The  Bible  in  Bra':!!, 
and  in  it  he  tells  of  a  presiding  elder's  district  in  that  mission 
land  with  seven  preaching  stations  and  with  more  than  a  thousand 
converts,  the  whole  district  created  by  the  work  of  the  Scriptures 
sown  broadcast  there  by  the  colporteurs.  The  Bible  has  convert- 
ing power.  As  Phillips  Brooks  said,  "It  is  vital  from  end  to  end." 
I  have  confined  myself  to  one  country,  but  the  record  is  the  same 
all  over  the  world.  Bishop  Parker,  when  he  stood  upon  the 
platform  of  the  Ecumenical  Missionary  Conference  in  New  York, 
told  the  story  of  a  young  Mohammedan  teacher  in  one  of  the 
government  schools,  who  was  restless  and  nervous  one  evening 
and  went  to  a  friend  and  said,  "What  shall  I  do?"  The  friend 
says,  "Here  is  the  Christian's  book,  you  may  like  to  read  it."  He 
took  his  New  Testament  and  read  it  way  into  the  night.  That 
night  was  a  wakeful  night.  The  reading  of  that  Testament  led 
to  his  conversion.  He  to-day  is  a  preacher  in  the  Northwest 
India  Conference.  As  the  good  bishop  said  in  his  address,  "The  seed  Com  of 
Bible  is  the  seed  corn  of  the  kingdom  in  this  land."  So  the  Bible  *^«  Kingdom 
goes  out  to  open  up  the  way  for  the  missionary. 

It  is  the  chief  instrument  in  the  missionary's  hands.  Brewster, 
out  in  Hinghua,  as  Martin  in  India,  as  Judson  in  Burma,  did  not 
dare  to  lay  the  foundations  without  getting  the  Scriptures  into 
the  language  of  the  people  as  soon  as  possible.  So  the  Bible  goes 
with  the  missionary  as  his  chief  helper  and  aid. 
7 


98 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


The  Only 
Adequate 
Resource 


Ziegenbalg 


Livingstone 


But  I  want  to  press  home  another  thought,  namely,  that  the 
Scriptures  He  at  the  heart  of  Christian  missions,  because  the 
Scriptures  give  to  the  missionary  his  only  adequate  resource  for 
his  work  and  toil.  We  say  the  strength  of  missions  is  wealth, 
and  we  wish  that  the  Church  would  pour  out  its  wealth.  But 
what  good  would  wealth  have  done  to  Melville  Cox  on  the  sands 
of  Liberia?  We  say  that  the  power  of  missions  is  a  highly  or- 
ganized ecclesiasticism,  and  we  want  a  mighty  society.  But  of 
•what  value  would  a  mighty  ecclesiasticism  have  been  to  Payton, 
Avhen  he  stood  with  his  wife  alone  in  the  Hebrides,  and  heard 
the  cries  of  savages  at  their  cannibalistic  rites  in  the  forest? 
Wealth  is  good,  yes;  may  God  grant  that  it  be  poured  out  upon 
the  altars  of  the  Church.  Ecclesiasticism  is  a  mighty  power ;  may 
God  grant  that  it  may  be  increased.  But  what  the  missionary 
wants,  when  he  stands  alone  under  the  stars  and  faces  the  dark- 
ness of  heathenism,  is  the  word  of  God  that  opens  up  to  him  the 
resources  of  infinite  strength,  that  comes  to  him  and  says,  "I  the 
Lord  thy  God  will  hold  thy  right  hand,  saying  unto  thee.  Fear  not ; 
I  will  help  thee ;"  "Underneath  are  the  everlasting  arms ;"  "Of 
the  increase  of  my  kingdom  there  shall  be  no  end ;"  "Lo,  I  am 
with  you  alway."  I  do  not  wonder  that  the  missionaries  are  lovers 
of  the  Bible.  I  don't  wonder  that  Ziegenbalg,  the  first  missionary 
to  India,  tells  us  that,  on  the  ship,  when  it  took  from  the  middle 
of  November  to  the  middle  of  the  following  July  to  reach  India, 
"When  the  days  were  calm,  we  spent  them  in  reading  the  Bible, 
and  we  learned  not  only  the  letter  of  the  Bible  but  its  inner 
sweetness."  I  don't  wonder  that  when  Stanley  went  into  the 
heart  of  Africa  to  find  Livingstone,  he  found  him  carrying  with 
him  the  little  Testament  that  he  had  gotten  when  he  was  a 
youth  for  learning  to  recite  perfectly  the  119th  Psalm.  And 
Livingstone  had  fed  upon  this  Testament  and  nourished  his  soul 
upon  it,  and  received  strength  for  his  wonderful  mission  through 
the  power  of  the  infinite  book. 

The  Bible  is  at  the  heart  of  Christian  missions.  Jesus  Christ, 
the  great  Missionary,  the  Captain  of  our  salvation,  wherever  he 
may  have  gotten  his  original  impulse  for  his  divine  coming  into 
the  world  to  save  it,  got  his  daily  nourishment  for  his  mission 
from  the  Scriptures.  And  when  he  stands  before  the  people  there 
in  the  synagogue  at  Nazareth  and  lays  out  his  missionary  propa- 
ganda  that   includes   the   Gentiles,   he  begins   with   quoting   the 


THE    BIBLE   AT    THE    HEART    OF    MISSIONS  ^        99 

Scripture  and  says,  "The  Spirit  hath  anointed  me  to  preach  the 
Gospel." 

When  the  Church  has  been  saturated  with  the  Scriptures  it  Missionary 
has  been  fired  with  missionary  zeal.  The  first  missionaries  that 
went  out  to  the  East  were  from  the  Pietists,  who  restored  the 
Bible  to  a  place  in  their  hearts.  The  Moravian  missionaries,  the 
most  wonderful  missionaries  in  many  respects  the  world  has  ever 
known,  went  from  a  Bible-loving  people.  Every  act  of  this  people 
was  associated  with  the  Scriptures.  You  remember  that  picture 
of  Christian  David,  with  his  followers,  when  he  came  to  the 
estate  of  Count  Zinzendorf,  where  these  exiles  had  been  given 
a  home,  and  struck  his  ax  into  the  tree,  and  said,  "Yea,  the 
sparrow  hath  found  a  house,  and  the  swallow  a  nest  for  herself, 
where  she  may  lay  her  young,  even  thine  altars,  O  Lord  of  hosts, 
my  King,  and  my  God."  More  than  two  thousand  missionaries 
went  out  from  that  Moravian  Church.  This  story  is  a  miracle 
almost  of  missionary  enthusiasm. 

During  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries  England  was  An  Open 
getting  hold  of  the  Bible.  The  Bible  was  being  translated  into  ^n^^ievered 
the  tongue  of  the  people,  was  getting  out  among  the  people,  and 
when  our  Wesleyan  fathers  had  made  the  Bible  an  open  book,  in 
the  mines  of  Cornwall,  in  the  Welsh  mountains,  and  on  the  sea- 
coast  by  Bristol,  in  the  valleys  of  Ireland  and  when  the  English 
people  through  the  ministry  of  the  Wesleyan  itinerants  had 
learned  to  love  the  Bible,  then  there  sprung  up  the  mighty  mis- 
sionary movements  that  have  been  increasing  until  this  hour, 
nourished  in  the  Scriptures,  and  fed  thereon.  And  I  come  to  you 
this  morning  to  say  that  if  our  Church  wants  to  take  a  mighty 
step  forward,  it  needs,  pastor  and  people,  to  bathe  itself  in  the 
Scriptures.  When  we  see  the  open  Bible  loved  and  revered 
in  our  homes  as  we  saw  it  in  our  fathers'  homes,  then  the  mis- 
sionary fire  will  burn  with  increasing  flame  in  the  heart  of  the 
Church. 

The  mother  of  the  first  missionary  to  India  was  a  quiet,  humble  A  Great 
woman,  living  in  a  little  town  of  Saxony.  When  she  came  to  die 
she  gathered  her  children  about  her  and  said,  "Children,  I  have 
laid  up  a  great  treasure  for  you."  "A  great  treasure?"  said  the 
eldest  daughter,  with  wonder.  "Mother,  where  is  it?"  "It  is  in 
my  Bible,"  said  the  mother,  "seek  and  you  will  find  it.  I  have 
wet  cvcrv  page  with  my  tears."     No  wonder  that  her  son  went 


lOO 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


forth  to  burn  out  his  Hfe  at  thirty-six,  facing  the  darkness  of  that 
heathen  land.  When  we  as  pastors,  when  the  Church  wets  its 
Bible  with  its  tears,  it  will  be  mightily  stirred,  it  will  move  for- 
ward irresistibly  to  the  conquest  of  this  world  for  Him  for  whom 
the  book  claims  it,  the  Lord  of  life  and  glory ! 


Ethics  and 
Life 


A  Scrutiny  of 
Results 


THE    NEGRO   A    MISSIONARY   INVEST- 
MENT,   A    MISSIONARY    INVESTOR 

The   Rev.    J.   W.    E.    Bowen,  D.D. 

In  an  age  of  commercialism,  when  monetary  values  are 
attached  to  almost  every  act  and  fact  in  life,  and  when  the  cry 
upon  so  many  lips  in  this  rush  of  life  is,  "Does  it  pay?"  it  is 
refreshing  to  turn  aside  and  consider  the  spiritual  power,  content, 
and  import  of  great  movements.  We  may  thank  God  that  he 
has  denied  us  the  power  of  constructing  scales  that  can  weigh 
thought,  heart,  life,  spirit.  Ethics  and  life  cannot  be  weighed  in 
the  scales  of  mathematics,  for  they  live  and  move  and  have  their 
being  in  an  atmosphere  that  sense  and  sin  cannot  appreciate. 

While  it  is  true  that  Christianity  must  never  stop  to  count  the 
cost  of  the  redemption  of  a  soul,  it  is  equally  true  that  she  must 
stop  to  see  whether  she  has  redeemed  that  soul.  Hers  is  not  to 
reason  why,  but  hers  is  to  ask  what?  It  is  the  part  of  common 
sense,  therefore,  as  well  as  a  religious  duty  to  canvass  the  results 
of  a  course  of  action  in  order  to  ascertain  whether  these  results 
measure  up  to  the  outlay  of  thought,  life,  and  money.  In  this 
spirit,  we  may  ask.  Does  it  pay  ? 

It  is  a  safe  and  worthy  dictum  to  lay  down  at  the  opening  of 
this  inquiry  to  say,  if  the  results  in  the  redemption  of  the  Amer- 
ican negro  or  any  other  race  are  not  commensurate  with  the  vast 
outlay ;  if  we  are  not  working  a  divine  miracle  in  the  man  himself 
and  have  not  brought  him  into  the  ranks  as  a  helper  of  his 
brethren,  and  if  our  methods  are  those  usually  employed  in  this 
kind  of  work,  then  it  would  be  no  surrender  of  principle  to  cease 
this  outlay  and  inquire  into  the  causes  of  this  failure  and  adopt 
other  methods,  for  outlay  is  not  to  be  an  incident  but  a  means  to 
salvation.  With  these  preliminary  thoughts  to  guide  us,  let  us 
take  up  the  first  half  of  our  subject :  "The  Negro  as  a  Missionary 
Investment." 


THE    NEGRO    AND    MISSIONS  lOI 

* 

The  mightiest  orator  of  the  negro  race  was  fond  of  saying  that  The  standard 
the  very  best  way  to  judge  the  negro  was  to  look  downward  o^  J'^dgment 
whence  he  came,  and  not  upward  whither  he  goeth.  This  is  a 
safe  canon  for  judging  any  people,  and  it  finds  a  scientific  support 
in  the  accepted  theory  that  pedigree  or  history  and  environment 
are  two  of  the  three  creative  factors  in  the  life  of  a  people. 
History  has  a  continuity  that  requires  ages  to  lireak,  and  even 
under  a  highly  civilized  and  beautifully  cultured  state  we  may  dis- 
cover the  earmarks  of  an  ancient  birth.  The  persistence  of  these 
earmarks  is  a  visible  argument  of  the  hypnotic  grip  of  the  past 
upon  the  present.  The  observer  of  times  and  the  student  of 
history  has  no  difficulty  in  reading  these  odd  hieroglyphics  in  the 
cultured  state  of  the  most  advanced  of  to-day.  In  the  children 
of  nature,  as  seen  in  the  negro  of  to-day,  the  traditions  and 
practices  of  their  heathenish  state  may  be  read  by  a  schoolboy. 
He  has  the  fresh  green  odor  of  the  forests  of  Africa,  and  the 
brogue  of  his  native  African  jargon  may  be  heard  in  almost  every 
sentence  he  utters  when  he  attempts  to  speak  the  king's  language. 
Every  people  is  the  physical  representation  of  their  moral,  social, 
and  intellectual  habitat,  and  no  abiding  change  can  come  imtil 
new  ideals  and  principles  have  become  clearly  apprehended  in 
thought  and  spirit  and  discovered  to  be  superior  in  meeting  the 
wants  of  men,  and  until  these  have  become  dominant  in  their 
spirits.  There  must  be  a  war  between  the  old  and  the  new  for 
supremacy.  Therefore  the  persistence  of  characteristics  upon 
a  people  in  the  passage  from  one  form  of  life  to  another  is  not 
an  exclusive  racial  trait,  but  a  universally  human  trait.  These 
are  but  the  graveclothes  upon  the  man  who  is  coming  forth  from 
a  dead  past  into  a  living  present.  They  are  to  be  removed  that 
the  new  life  may  clothe  itself  in  the  garments  of  a  well-ordered 
living  community. 

Discarding  the  emotional  temper  of  a  modern  prophet  who  a  Look 
"sees  visions  and  dreams  dreams"  and  prophesies  immense  good 
or  overwhelming  evil,  and  adopting  the  cold  sense  of  a  student 
of  affairs,  let  us  look  backward  over  the  shoulders  of  the  past 
and  see  what  has  been  accomplished  for  the  American  negro 
through  the  agency  of  the  missionary  work  of  the  Church.  The 
facts  fully  support  the  statement  that  American  Christianity  has 
achieved  a  work  in  the  conversion  and  elevation  of  the  negro  such 
as  cannot  be  surpassed  in  the  history  of  missionary  effort.    We 


Backward 


T02  THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 

are  too  near  the  achievement  to  appreciate  its  large  significance, 
and  in  this  case,  as  in  others,  distance  would  clarify  our  vision 
and  lend  enchantment  to  the  view.  The  American  negro  pre- 
sented such  a  picture  of  dense  ignorance  and  indescribable 
stupidity  so  recently  as  the  beginning  of  the  last  century  that 
those  unfamiliar  to-day  with  history  would  be  likely  to  regard 
the  facts  as  incredible.  At  that  period,  while  the  nation  had 
discountenaced  the  slave  trade  with  prohibitive  and  penal  legisla- 
tion, there  was  not  sufficient  moral  power  in  the  land  to  enforce 
the  legislation  and  prevent  the  landing  of  the  unfledged  heathen 
upon  these  shores.  That  law,  framed  by  legal  acumen  and  with 
lofty  purposes,  became  inoperative  because  of  the  lack  of  a  public 
sentiment  to  give  it  life.  Certain  sections  of  this  land  could 
present  at  that  time  a  heterogeneous  mass  of  heathenism  that 
could  be  surpassed  only  by  a  like  mass  of  Hottentots  on  their 
native  heath.  This  statement  is  not  a  criticism ;  it  is  the  bald 
statement  of  fact.  The  moral  status  of  the  nation  could  not  do 
any  more  than  was  done  at  that  time  for  that  dense  and  stolid 
A  Mass  of  mass  of  ignorance.  In  moral  notions  they  were  a  blank ;  in 
gnorance  religious  conceptions  they  were  grossly  superstitious,  and  they  had 
as  clear  an  idea  of  civil  government  and  the  requirements  of  the 
moral  law  as  a  baby  has  of  Kant's  "Categorical  Imperative."  It 
cannot  be  charged  that  the  social  condition  into  which  the  be- 
nighted pagan  was  thrust  was  responsible  for  his  lack  of  civilized 
views.  This  state  of  mind  and  soul  is  the  native  atmosphere  of 
the  sleeping  millions  of  heathens.  This  deplorable  condition  of  the 
American  negro  is  unmatched  by  anything  in  the  nation  during 
its  century  and  a  half  of  existence.  Human  reason  hesitates  to 
accept  without  convincing  proof,  in  these  days  of  light  and  intel- 
ligence, any  statement  that  charges  any  considerable  number  of 
its  present  citizenship  with  recent  paganism.  But  these  statements 
can  be  well  authenticated  by  unvarnished  history.  These  views 
are  not  the  fancies  of  verdant  youth  or  the  ravings  and  dis- 
colorations  of  unbalanced  minds ;  they  are  the  simple  facts  known 
to  contemporaries,  read  by  the  eye  of  history  in  unchanging 
type,  and  they  are  the  statements  of  men  of  character  and  acumen 
in  the  study  of  events.  A  look  downward  into  the  pit  whence  the 
black  man  was  digged  will  convince  the  greatest  doubter  of  the 
tremendous  work  accomplished  and  of  the  divine  daring  involved 
in  the  undertaking.     The  poetic  statement,  "The  Greeks  are  at 


THE    NEGRO    AND    MISSIONS  IO3 

our  doors,"  has  had  its  stubborn  prose  written  in  the  presc^nce  of 
the  negro  on  this  continent  from  its  beginning  as  a  moral  con- 
tinent, and  had  not  Christian  men  and  women  faced  the  issue  and 
shouldered  the  obligation  the  nation  might  have  heard  the  threat- 
ening and  despondent  warning  of  Delilah  to  the  sleeping  and 
recreant  giant,  "Samson,  the  Philistines  are  upon  thee." 

Let  us  ask  the  question,  What  has  been  the  investment  of  the 
Christian  Church  in  the  negro  for  his  redemption?  Here  again 
we  run  upon  the  truth  that  the  forces  that  bring  about  a  result 
cannot  be  computed  in  numbers  or  enumerated  in  words.  The 
best  things  of  the  Christian  Church  spurn  the  statistical  columns. 
The  very  atmosphere  is  saturated  with  the  divine  power  that 
works  a  transformation  in  men's  minds.  The  best  we  can  do  is 
to  tabulate  a  few  figures  that  represent  the  financial  contribution 
of  the  Church  through  her  agencies  for  clothing  that  man  in  his 
right  mind. 

The  Missionary  Society  of  our  Church  has  put  into  the  South-  The  Church's 
ern  field  during  the  last  ten  years,  from  1893  to  1902,  for  the 
negro,  the  princely  amount  of  $465,160.  This  is  but  one  item  in 
the  count  of  the  large  gifts  of  the  Church  for  this  particular  phase 
of  our  w^ork.  Add  to  this  amount  the  appropriations  of  the 
Board  of  Education  of  our  Church  for  the  education  of  needy 
students;  of  the  Church  Extension  Society  for  church  building 
among  the  people ;  of  the  Sunday  School  Union  and  Tract  Society 
for  the  planting  of  new  Sunday  schools  and  for  the  assistance  to 
schools  already  in  operation ;  of  the  Woman's  Home  Missionary 
Society  for  the  erection  of  Homes  of  domestic  economy  and  the 
running  of  the  same  for  the  young  women  of  the  race ;  and  of 
the  Freedmen's  Aid  and  Southern  Education  Society  for  the 
erection  and  maintenance  of  institutions  of  high  grade  throughout 
the  South,  that  the  youth  of  that  people  may  have  an  even  chance 
in  getting  an  education,  and  also  those  contributions  through  the 
other  channels  of  the  Church  not  called  benevolent,  and  you  will 
have  an  amount  that  fairly  amazes  one. 

These  vast  numbers  are  an  expression  of  an  heroic  faith  in  God  Heroic  Faith 
and  of  a  splendid  faith  in  the  great  outcome  of  the  negro  race. 
This  disinterested  giving  for  the  conversion  of  the  recently 
liberated  slave  is  cut  from  the  same  piece  of  cloth  that  Lecky  used 
in  his  History  of  European  Morals  when  he  discovered  the  trium- 
phant faith  of  the  noble  spirits  who  knocked  the  chains  from  the 


I04  THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 

limbs  of  the  patient,  dumb-driven  slave.  Were  this  the  full 
measure  of  our  Church's  contribution  of  this  general  cause  the 
negro  would  be  placed  under  lasting  gratitude.  But  as  a  repre- 
sentative of  that  people  I  would  be  untrue  to  the  instincts  of  my 
nature  and  false  to  the  facts  did  I  not  refer  to  the  noble  spirits 
of  those  dark  days,  "who  through  faith  subdued  kingdoms, 
wrought  righteousness,  obtained  promises,  stopped  the  mouths  of 
lions,  quenched  the  violence  of  fire,  escaped  the  edge  of  the  sword, 
out  of  weakness  were  made  strong,  waxed  valiant  in  fight,  turned 
to  flight  the  armies  of  the  aliens,"  and  "of  whom  the  world  was 
not  worthy." 

What  is  the  result?  In  investigating  the  result  of  spiritual 
endeavor  we  must  not  be  content  with  the  statistical  summaries 
of  our  Conference  and  census  reports.  These  reports  are  grati- 
fying in  what  they  say,  but  they  are  totally  inadequate  to  compress 
within  figures  the  full  result  of  our  work.  From  these  we  learn 
that  the  entire  Church  communicants  of  the  race  are  a  trifle  more 
than  4,000,000,  while  the  whole  race  of  8,000,000  has  been  rescued 
from  barbarism.  Of  this  large  number  of  Church  members,  our 
own  Church  people  of  color  number  300,000,  scattered  in  twenty 
home  Conferences  and  one  foreign  Conference.  These  figures 
would  mean  only  so  many  heads  if  there  were  no  evidences  of 
enlarged  character  among  that  constituency.  A  revival  that 
results  mostly  in  an  increase  of  "heads"  and  a  counting  of  "noses" 
has  failed  of  the  true  power  intended  for  this  exercise  of  Christian 
power  and  faith.  It  not  infrequently  happens  that  the  best 
revivals  come  and  go  with  not  a  single  new  "head"  added  to  those 
already  in  the  church.  Increase  in  church  membership  from  a 
numerical  point  of  view  is  desirable  and  not  to  be  despised.  It 
should  be  sought  after;  for  there  is  great  spiritual  momentum 
in  a  large  body.  But  it  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  increase  in 
church  membership  does  not  mean  exclusively  increase  in  "church 
numbership."  It  may  mean,  and  it  should  mean,  increase  of 
power  in  the  membership  as  well  as  increase  of  numbers.  A 
revival  should  result  first  in  an  intensification  of  spiritual  life  as 
well  as  an  extension  in  numbers.  We  must  have  both  intensive 
and  extensive  life.  It  is  within  the  limits  of  truth  to  say  that  the 
mere  swelling  of  the  numbers  catches  at  the  shadow  and  misses 
the  power.  God  warned  his  people  through  the  ancient  prophet 
that  their  victories  came  "not  by  might,  nor  by  power  (numbers), 


not  Yet 


THE    NEGRO    AND    MISSIONS  I05 

but  by  my  Spirit."  It  is  a  gratifying  fact,  however,  to  not^  that 
in  this  large  number  of  negro  Christians  so  many  have  received 
the  power  of  the  upper  world  into  their  hearts.  We  may  safely 
say  that  the  race  has  been  practically  redeemed  or  snatched  from 
the  burning.  It  has  been  converted  and  brought  into  the  Chris- 
tian Church.  .  Such  result  cannot  be  duplicated  in  missionary 
annals  within  the  same  length  of  time  in  any  other  section  of  the 
globe. 

No  one  will  claim  that  all  of  the  "brothers  in  black"  whose  Perfection 
names  are  enrolled  on  the  church  record  are  in  life  and  spirit  what 
the  Scriptures  demand  ;  many  of  them  are  grossly  imperfect.  The 
failure  of  the  negroes  to  embody  in  their  life  the  ethical  principles 
of  the  Scriptures  has  provoked  occasional  derision  on  the  part  of 
certain  well-meaning  persons.  This  failure  is  no  new  thing  under 
the  sun,  and  can  be  easily  explained.  It  has  been  the  burden  of 
the  Christian  Church  from  its  inauguration  to  bring  her  com- 
municants to  recognize  that  faith  without  works  is  dead ;  that 
culture  was  foreordained  for  service ;  that  practice  and  morals 
should  go  hand  in  hand,  and  that  religion  and  life  were  never 
meant  to  be  separated.  These  defects  are  the  natural  accompani- 
ments of  a  people's  effort  in  passing  from  one  state  to  another. 
They  are  in  the  gulf  of  transition  from  irresponsibility  to  respon- 
sibility, from  ignorance  to  intelligence,  from  barabarism  to 
civilization,  from  stupidity  to  culture,  and  from  a  life  of  sin  to  a 
life  of  righteousness  among  men  and  of  holiness  toward  God. 
Not  until  the  teachings  or  principles  of  an  institution  or  cause 
are  clearly  apprehended  in  thought  as  to  their  meaning,  purport, 
and  superiority  over  former  views  and  conceptions  can  those  ideas 
or  principles  be  fully  interpreted  in  life,  applied  in  morals,  and 
practiced  in  faith.  These  recent  recruits  to  the  ranks  of  the 
King's  army  see  men  at  first  "as  trees  walking;"  their  eyes  are 
but  half  open.  Here  comes  the  chance  of  the  Christian  Church  to 
take  these  by  the  hand  who  are  feeling  their  way  after  truth  and, 
Philip-like,  lead  these  sable  Greeks  to  the  Master  of  truth.  Their 
minds  are  filled  with  childish  notions,  and  they  are  not  yet  able 
to  discover  the  bearing  of  abstract  truth  upon  the  concrete 
realities  of  life.  The  relation  of  piety  to  Christianity  and  the 
significance  of  virtue  is  a  product  of  persistent  individual-choice 
effort.  These  higher  lines  of  life  issue  forth  from  the  heart 
transformed  from  sinfulness  and  conformed  to  the  pattern  in  the 


I06  THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 

Time  mount.     It  requires  a  long  period  to  bring  this  result.     The  dis- 

Reqmred  tance  from  a  life  of    the  gross  forms  of    barbarism  or  semi- 

civilized  life  to  the  beauty,  power,  and  glory  of  a  life  transformed 
through  and  through  cannot  be  counted  with  ease  and  alacrity. 
Spirit  life,  Holy-Spirit  life,  is  the  crown  of  the  Gospel  life;  it  is 
the  final  product  of  all  the  struggle  and  heartache  of  the  soul. 

Does  it  Pay  1  To  bring  this  to  pass  is  the  work  of  the  Church.  It  has  been 
pointed  out  by  a  very  astute  observer  and  careful  thinker — the 
late  Bishop  of  London — that  "the  proper  order  in  the  develop- 
ment of  mankind  is  first  to  humanize,  second,  moralize,  and  lastly 
spiritualize."  Thus  it  will  appear  that  the  conversion  of  the 
American  negro  to  the  Christianity  of  the  Bible  is  the  laurel 
wreath  to  crown  the  brow  of  modern  missions.  Ask  the  question 
again.  Does  it  pay?  and  the  answer  is  forthcoming:  It  pays  to 
save  a  race  from  sin. 

The  response  of  the  race  to  these  saving  efforts  has  been  spon- 
taneous and  fruitful.  A  new  people  practically  has  been  added 
to  the  family  of  civilized  peoples  In  this  work.  They  stand  clothed 
in  their  right  mind,  singing  the  hymn  of  evangelical  Christianity, 
and  illustrating  in  a  humble  way  through  their  weak  efforts  the 
power  of  the  Christian  religion.  These  results  will  be  read  in  the 
history  of  our  times  in  the  succeeding  generations  with  an  interest 
that  is  akin  to  the  interest  manifested  by  the  schoolboy  in  reading 
The  Arabian  Nights.  To  the  question,  What  hast  thou  wrought? 
the  negro  race  stands  up  as  the  best  results  of  Christian  work  in 
these  latter  days  and  points  to  its  redeemed  millions  as  the  crown 
and  reward  of  these  labors. 

The  Negro's  The  second  part  of  the  theme  must  now  be  considered  :     "The 

Xegro  as  a  Missionary  Investor."  The  actual  cash  surrender  of 
negro  redemption  must  of  necessity  be  insignificantly  small  when 
compared  with  the  great  gifts  of  the  more  fortunate  in  the 
Church.  We  must  bear  in  mind  that  the  gifts  of  the  Church  are 
in  consecrated  personalities  as  well  as  in  money.  It  is  well  to  lift 
our  eyes  from  the  purely  financial  contribution  of  the  race.  It  is 
no  new  or  wild  statement  to  make,  that,  left  to  ourselves,  we  could 
not  carry  on  effectually  the  work  of  the  race's  redemption. 

The  first  movement  toward  the  true  development  of  a  people  is 
that  of  self-support.  The  aim  of  our  system  is  to  develop  in  the 
individual  and  race  that  spirit  that  makes  them  stand  upon  their 
feet.    Babyhood  must  be  supported  and  fostered.     Manhood  sup- 


THE    NEGRO    AND    MISSIONS 


107 


ports  and  fosters.  All  effort  for  the  man  and  race  must  ann  at 
increasing  his  power  and  developing  in  him  the  true  spirit  of 
manhood.  The  real  man  has  not  awakened  until  he  realizes  his 
duty  to  undertake  the  burden  of  life.  As  soon  as  a  man  can  bear 
his  burden  he  ought  to  be  called  upon  to  bear  it ;  for  the  constant 
carrying  of  a-  people  weakens  their  power  and  paralyzes  their 
energy  and  unfits  them  for  life. 

Apply  these  simple  canons  to  the  Christian  negro  and  note  the  Self-support 
result.  It  has  been  occasionally  affirmed  that  the  negro  is  not 
dev^eloping  in  the  spirit  of  self-support.  The  reasonable  demand 
of  self-development  and  self-support  is  not  that  it  should  be  in 
spasmodic  efforts,  be  they  never  so  large  in  results,  but  in  a 
steady  forward  movement.  If  the  movement  is  even  and  regular, 
the  end  is  obtained.  'Twere  better  by  far  that  the  growth  should 
be  in  small  proportion  but  persistent  in  its  movement  than  that  it 
should  be  otherwise.  The  negro  has  made  commendable  progress 
in  these  lines.  The  best  illustration  of  this  movement  is  the  con- 
tribution of  our  colored  constituents  last  year.  The  missionary 
appropriation  to  our  colored  work  last  year  was  $40,000.  But 
the  colored  people  gave  of  that  amount  $20,000,  making  the 
actual  gift  of  the  Church  a  trifle  over  $20,000,  or  an  average  of 
$1,000  per  Conference  for  twenty  Annual  Conferences  among 
them.  It  must  be  admitted,  even  by  the  hypercritical  who  fears 
that  we  will  spoil  our  colored  membership  by  over-appropriation, 
that  this  appropriation  to  the  evangelization  of  the  thousands  and 
hundreds  of  thousands  within  the  bounds  of  each  Conference 
cannot  accomplish  the  direful  result.  It  is  admitted  by  many 
thoughtful  colored  men  who  are  most  anxious  for  self-support 
that  the  steps  in  that  direction  are  not  rapid  enough  and  that  some 
new  method  must  be  instituted  to  secure  the  desired  end.  They 
are  ready  to  accept  a  feasible  plan  that  will  bring  about  this  end 
and  that  will  at  the  same  time  prevent  evils  in  its  working. 

Self-support  is  the  ideal  state  to  reach  unto.  However,  we  The  Ideal 
must  guard  against  that  disintegrating  element  that  sometimes 
creeps  into  it,  called  by  the  pleasing  term  "self-complacency."  To 
look  only  at  one  side  of  these  facts  will  warp  our  judgment.  Our 
people  of  color  in  the  Church  have  made  and  are  still  making  an 
eflfort  to  place  themselves  upon  a  firm  basis  in  Christian  life. 
Twenty  thousand  dollars,  to  say  the  least,  is  a  respectable  begin- 
ning in  that  direction,  especially  when  it  is  fifty  per  cent  of  their 


io8 


THE    CLEV^ELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


Self-depend 
ence 


general  appropriation.  Their  own  evangelization  is  a  part  of  the 
problem  of  the  general  evangelization  of  the  world,  and  hence  they 
have  contributed  by  so  much  to  the  general  cause.  But  there  is 
another  phase  of  this  question  that  should  be  presented  before 
this  body. 

It  hath  been  said  by  those  who  are  supposed  to  know  the  facts 
that  the  negro  membership  of  our  Church  are  less  self-dependent 
than  the  membership  of  exclusively  negro  communions.  It  is 
further  said  that  those  exclusive  communions  raise  more  benevo- 
lent money  in  toto  and  per  capita  than  we  do ;  that  the  missionary 
contributions  of  our  own  people  are  insignificant  when  compared 
with  those  of  other  denominations.  In  'sum,  it  is  averred  that  our 
missionary  appropriations  tend  to  weaken  our  people,  pauperize 
their  spirit,  and  deprive  them  of  those  vigorous  essentials  seen  in 
others  of  their  kith  and  kin ;  and  that  because  of  these  facts  the 
missionary  appropriation  should  be  completely  withdrawn  and 
our  black  constituency  taught  violently  and  suddenly  the  supreme 
lesson  of  self-support.  It  should  be  said  that  these  men  who 
speak  in  this  fashion  are  men  of  large  wisdom,  and  that  they 
would  not  do  violence  to  the  cause  in  which  their  hearts  are 
buried,  nor  do  they  intend  to  check  that  spirit  in  the  people  they 
so  much  desire  to  see  developed.  But  it  is  equally  evident  to  us 
that  all  the  facts  have  not  been  laid  before  their  scrutinizing 
minds. 
A  Comparison  Let  US  examine  this  subject.  In  the  first  place,  we  must  exclude 
from  this  comparison  the  negroes  of  the  small  communions  and 
those  of  the  CongregationaHsts,  Episcopalians,  and  Presbyterians, 
for  the  manifest  reason  that  these  people  are  not  required  to  make 
contributions  to  these  general  causes.  Our  eyes  are  invaribly 
fixed  in  such  discussions  upon  ihe  greatest  negro  Methodist 
bodies  in  the  world,  the  African  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  and 
the  next  largest  of  its  kind,  the  African  Methodist  Episcopal  Zion 
Church.  Both  of  these  Churches  are  doing  heroic  service  for 
Christ  in  the  elevation  of  the  race. 

I  shall  confine  myself  to  the  strongest  of  them,  using  their  short 
term  "Bethel"  to  designate  them.  This  Church  has  a  member- 
ship, according  to  its  own  report,  approaching  three  quarters  of  a 
million,  a  large  body  of  which  is  in  the  United  States  and  a 
goodly  number  in  the  West  Indies,  some  in  Canada  and  also  in 
Africa.     This  Church  of  negroes  is  great  in  many  respects ;    it 


THE    NEGRO    AND    MISSIONS  IO9 

has  illustrated  as  no  other  similar  body  what  negroes  are  capable  Giftt  of 
of  doing  when  left  to  themselves.  They  deserve  more  than  a  bethel  Church 
passing  notice  in  a  review  of  the  missionary  forces  of  the  world. 
Their  quadrennial  report  under  the  missionary  secretary,  the  Rev. 
H.  B.  Parks,  D.D.,  contains  these  interesting  summaries  of  their 
collections:  1897,  total  collection,  $11,050.37  ;  1898,  $11,967.35  ; 
1899,  $16,301.55;  1900,  $19,557.54.  Grand  total,  $58,876.81. 
An  analysis  of  these  figures  will  disclose  the  following  facts : 
They  have  included  in  the  sum  total  three  items  that  are  out  of 
place  in  this  tabulation.  The  "Special  Donations"  of  $2,473.27, 
the  "Woman's  Fund"  of  $444.39,  and  the  "borrowed  money"  of 
$13,039.73  have  no  place  whatever  in  this  table  as  representing 
the  collections  from  the  people.  Deducting  these  amounts  of 
$15,957.39  from  the  $58,876.81  leaves  a  net  total  of  $42,919.42, 
which  represents  the  Easter  collection  of  $33,705.40,  and  the 
missionary  collection  given  by  the  preachers  of  the  Conferences, 
$9,214.02.  This  amount  is  the  net  missionary  contribution  that 
passed  through  their  general  treasury.  Allow  the  legitimacy  of 
fifty  per  cent  of  the  collection  of  the  Woman's  Home  and  Foreign 
Society,  which  is  $444.39,  and  the  "Special  •  Donations"  of 
$2,473.27,  and  you  have  a  total  of  $45,837.08.  Add  to  this  amount 
the  sixty  per  cent  of  the  missionary  money  paid  by  the  preachers 
that  was  retained  by  the  Annual  Conferences,  a  sum  amounting 
to  $13,821.03,  and  the  fifty  per  cent  of  the  Woman's  Home  and 
Foreign  Society  retained  also  by  the  Conferences,  amounting  to 
$444.39,  and  you  have,  as  the  grand  total  of  missionary  money 
collected  by  that  Church  of  700,000  members  $60,102.50.  This 
amount  means  that  the  700,000  members  of  this  great  Church 
gave  for  the  cause  of  missions,  home  and  foreign,  including  the 
gifts  of  the  Woman's  Home  and  Foreign  Society,  a  trifle  over 
eight  and  one  half  cents  per  member  for  the  quadrennium,  or 
two  cents,  or  two  cents  and  one  mill,  per  annum  per  member.  But 
the  negro  membership  of  our  Church,  numbering  less  than 
300,000,  exclusive  of  their  collections  for  the  Woman's  Home  A  Favorable 
Missionary  Society  and  the  Woman's  Foreign  Missionary  Society,  ^^  ^ 
collected  and  paid  into  the  general  missionary  treasury  in  the  same 
period  of  time  the  splendid  amount  of  $65,516.84,  which  is  twenty- 
one  cents  and  seven  mills  per  member,  or  five  cents  and  four  mills 
each  year.  Small  as  this  amount  is,  it  exceeds  the  amount  given 
by  the  Bethel  Church   for  the  quadrennium  by  $5,414.34,  or  it 


no  THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 

exceeds  their  per  capita  giving  by  three  cents  and  three  mills  per 
year,  or  for  the  entire  period  by  thirteen  cents  and  two  mills  per 
member.  It  is  also  to  be  noted  that  we  have  three  colored  Con- 
ferences among  us — Washington,  Delaware,  South  Carolina — 
that  raised  for  benevolences  $25,000  a  year.  That  amount 
indicates  great  activity  among  our  brethren.  I  am  safe  in  saying, 
according  to  the  figures  thus  far  given  for  the  quadrennium  that 
the  close  of  the  present  quadrennium  will  show  that  our  people  of 
color  have  raised  for  missions  $75,000,  and  with  the  other  benevb- 
lences  thrown  in  the  aggregate  will  be  very  nearly  $200,000. 
Leadership  Another  important  fact  must  be  borne  in  mind:    the  Bethel 

people  had  the  inspiring  presence  and  superior  service  of  thirteen 
bishops,  who  were  in  almost  every  community  and  church,  urging, 
pleading,  directing,  and  helping  their  people  to  make  this  contri- 
bution for  the  redemption  of  the  race  and  the  world.  Moreover, 
they  have  had  the  presence  and  help  of  a  corresponding  secretary 
in  the  person  of  the  Rev.  H.  B.  Parks,  D.D.,  who  travels  inces- 
santly among  the  people  and  lays  the  cause  upon  their  hearts  with 
an  eloquent  plea  that  can  scarcely  be  excelled,  while  the  negro 
membership  of  our  Church  had  only  the  presence  of  a  bishop  in 
an  Annual  Conference  for  five  days  and  occasional  visits  of  a 
secretary  of  a  missionary  society  from  three  to  eight  years  apart. 
This  statement  has  not  the  breath  of  fault-finding  in  it.  It  is  a 
simple  announcement  of  a  fact.  A  reason  can  be  given  for  the 
absence  of  a  missionary  secretary  that  would  satisfy  the  judgment 
of  any  well-thinking  man.  The  South  is  poor,  and  the  negroes 
are  poorer,  and  it  would  not  be  wise  policy  on  the  part  of  the 
Church  to  have  these  general  officers  neglect  the  larger  fields  that 
are  able  to  make  large  contributions  for  the  Church  and  give 
their  time  to  the  weaker  sections,  but  it  is  also  true  that  the  weaker 
sections  will  remain  weaker  until  some  better  provision  is  made 
for  them  in  the  way  of  direct  personal  contact  and  inspiration. 
This  splendid  work,  small  as  it  is,  is  the  fruit  of  the  devotion  of 
our  hard-worked,  poorly  paid,  and  often  discouraged  pastors.  I 
present  these  figures  not  to  criticise  or  minimize,  but  merely  to 
state  our  case  in  one  point,  and  to  show  that  we  are  not  deserving 
of  the  severe  criticism  administered  us  by  our  friends,  and  also 
to  show  that  even  with  no  "straw"  we  are  making  respectable 
brick.  What  think  you  would  be  the  result  were  we  to  have 
officials  whose  brains  and  heart  are  filled  with  the  spirit  of  the 


THE    NEGRO    AND    MISSIONS 


III 


Results  in 
Character 


Church,  men  of  clear  vision  who  appreciate  what  their  6ffices 
mean  to  the  Church,  their  race,  and  the  world,  and  who,  in  the 
spirit  of  their  Master  would  go  and  inspire  the  people  to  self-help 
and  bring  results? 

Aside  from  this  simple  response  on  the  part  of  this  people  may 
I  ask,  are  we. to  expect  great  money  returns  for  money  invested 
in  the  redemption  of  a  race?  The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
did  not  go  into  that  Southern  field  to  fill  her  coflfcrs  with  money, 
or  with  an  expectation  that  large  financial  returns  would  repay 
the  consecration  of  her  heroes  and  the  gifts  of  philanthropic  men 
and  women.  I  bring  you  not  silver  and  gold,  but  I  bring  you  the 
confidence  and  love  of  three  hundred  thousand  black  faces,  but 
with  hearts  washed  clean  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb.  I  bring  you 
twenty  Conferences  in  the  South,  with  fifty  per  cent  of  the  preach- 
ers therein  respectably  educated,  and  another  twenty-five  per  cent 
thoroughly  educated  and  consecrated,  wdio  are  doing  a  royal 
service  upon  starvation  pay  that  the  kingdoms  of  this  earth  may 
become  the  kingdoms  of  Christ.  I  bring  you  a  race  loyal  to  our 
flag,  true  to  our  institutions,  and  ready  to  defend  these  with  their 
hearts'  best  blood. 

Finally,  I  bring  you  not  silver  and  gold,  but  human  character  An  Advance 
that  has  been  redeemed  and  that  shall  shine  in  the  diadem  of  the 
kingdom.  Retreat !  Nay  !  Retrench  !  Nay  !  a  thousand  times 
nay !  Speak  to  the  children  of  Israel  that  they  go  forward.  I 
have  but  one  suggestion  to  make,  and  that  comes  up  out  of  the 
heart  yearnings  of  those  sable  sons  of  the  Church,  who  are 
strugglmg  under  great  difficulties,  namely,  give  them  well-ap- 
pointed, God-selected,  thoroughly  consecrated  leaders,  and  the 
years  will  come  on  when  the  Church  w^ill  see  that  for  every  tear 
shed  and  for  every  dollar  invested  the  negro  race  will  present 
divine  characters,  cleansed,  purified,  educated,  fit  for  the 
Master's  use. 


Sounded 


112 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


A  Multitude 
of  Foreigners 


OUR    FOREIGN    POPULATIONS   AND    HOW 
TO    REACH    THEM 

The   Rev.    G.   B.   Addicks,  D.D. 

There  was  a  time  when  the  word  "mission"  suggested  to  us 
the  work  of  the  Church  in  far-away  heathen  lands,  where  the 
inhabitants  grope  in  darkness  without  the  Hght  of  the  Gospel  and 
the  knowledge  of  the  living  God.  But  since  the  millions  of 
foreigners  are  within  our  very  gates  it  is  no  longer  so;  for  we 
are  surrounded  by  vast  mission  fields  at  home,  some  of  which  we 
have  entered  with  fair  results.  But  the  exigency  of  the  case 
demands  that  we  put  forth  organized  effort  in  new  directions  and 
strengthen  our  forces  where  we  have  made  a  good  beginning. 
The  field  is  both  important  and  promising.  It  is  important  be- 
cause the  multitudes  who  come  here  are  souls  for  whom  our 
Saviour  died,  and  who  as  strangers  in  a  strange  land  need  the 
help  and  sympathy  of  the  Christian  people  even  more  than  they 
did  at  home,  which  help  if  it  be  not  given  by  the  Church  they  will 
seek  elsewhere.  It  is  important  also  because  of  their  influence  in 
society  and  their  power  at  the  ballot  box.  They  are  here  to  stay, 
and  will  help  to  build  or  help  to  destroy  this  government  according 
as  they  may  be  led.  They  come  here  (with  the  exception  of  a  few 
thousand  on  the  western  coast)  to  make  this  country  their  home 
and  to  make  an  honest  living.     But  they  bring  with  them  wrong 

Wrong  Views  views  of  our  republican  form  of  government,  and  some  of  the 
lower  classes  interpret  civil  liberty  to  mean  personal  liberty,  and, 
blindly  following  the  lead  of  an  antichristian  and  anarchistic 
element  in  this  country,  antagonize  our  free  institutions,  desecrate 
our  Sabbath,  despise  the  Church,  and  violate  the  laws  which 
secure  life,  liberty,  and  protection  to  them ;  while  the  Christian 
and  Americanized  foreigner  upholds  the  government,  loves  our 
institutions,  keeps  our  laws,  and  feeling  the  pulsebeats  of  this 
nation  in  its  nobler  purposes  in  his  own  heart  will  stand  by  our 
flag  even  to  sacrificing  his  life.  Such  is  the  difference  if  a  Chris- 
tian or  an  antichristian  influence  is  brought  to  bear  upon  them. 

The  It  is  a  promising  field,  because  our  foreigners  are  not  heathen. 

Foreigners        ^he  better  classes  are  acquainted  with  the  Christian  Church  and 
not  Heathen  '■ 

know  its  doctrines ;   they  have  the  Bible  and  are  well  versed  in  it. 

But  they  know  the  Church  as  a  dead  Church  and  the  Bible  as  a 


WORK    AMONG    FORETGXEKS    IN    AMERICA  II3 

book  of  history  and  doctrine  only.  ,  They  have  not  learu<:*d  the 
meaning  of  the  Christ-Hfe  in  the  soul ;  they  have  not  a  personal 
religious  experience.  But  when  they  are  brought  under  the 
influence  of  the  living  Word,  as  it  is  preached  by  converted  men, 
they  are  moved  to  repentance,  and  adjusting  this  living  truth  to 
their  mechanically  acquired  religious  knowledge  they  grasp  Jesus 
in  faith  as  their  personal  Saviour  and  with  such  a  basic  knowl- 
edge, as  a  rule,  they  hold  fast  to  the  end.  Even  the  less  favored 
Latin  and  Greek  races  that  throng  our  shores  are  not  heathen, 
for  they  are  monotheists,  which  means  they  are  several  centuries 
in  advance  of  the  heathen  in  faith.  I  therefore  feel  free  to 
emphasize  this  great  home  missionary  field  as  a  promising  field, 
which  is  broken  only  in  part,  it  may  be,  but  in  part  also  it  is  sown 
with  good  seed  and  in  part  it  is  ripe  unto  the  harvest. 

The  reaching  of  these  foreigners,  I  take  it,  means  more  than  How  to  Reach 
simply  to  preach  to  them  and  promiscuously  to  distribute  Chris-  ^^ 
tian  literature  among  them,  so  that  it  can  be  said  the  Gospel  has 
been  offered  them.  It  means  that  we  shall  bring  them  under  the 
saving  influence  of  the  Gospel  so  that  they  may  be  born  again  into 
a  new  life  in  Christ  Jesus.  It  is  sometimes  forgotten  that 
although  the  Gospel  is  suited  to  the  needs  of  all  it  is  a  delicate 
and  discriminating  task  to  dispense  it  in  a  way  suited  to  the  needs 
of  the  different  classes.  I  can  make  only  an  attempt  at  answering 
the  question  of  my  subject,  and  what  I  say  may  be  applicable  in 
part  to  the  whole  Church. 

I.  We  must  preach  the  Gospel  to  them.  We  might  preach  Preach  the 
many  other  things  for  their  enlightenment,  but  if  we  would  reach  °^P® 
them  in  order  to  save  them  w^e  must  preach  the  Gospel.  We 
certainly  can  welcome  every  new  light  which  may  be  thrown  on 
the  chronology,  trustworthiness,  composition,  and  authorship  of 
the  books  of  the  Bible,  for  a  better  understanding  and  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  genuineness  of  the  text,  but  we  should  not  preach 
higher  criticism  as  such,  to  the  foreigners,  as  it  would  remind 
them  of  men  of  the  pantheistic,  the  rationalistic,  and  negative 
tendencies  of  thought,  while  the  Gospel  pure  and  simple  reminds 
them  of  especially  pious  and  no  less  scliolarly  men  and  of  the 
admonitions  and  prayers  of  their  parents  and  the  songs  of  their 
childhood,  all  of  which  touch  their  hearts  rather  than  their  heads 
only,  for  religion  is  a  thing  of  the  heart  and  of  faith. 

We  must  be  entirely  in  sympathy  with  all  scientific  research, 


114 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


What  not  to 
Preach 


The  Gospel's 
Efficacy 


but  we  should  not  preach  evolution  as  the  modus  operandi  of 
creation,  because  it  is  only  an  hypothesis  and  uncertain  theory, 
since  the  origin  of  plant  and  animal  life  lies  in  the  field  of  specu- 
lation, outside  and  beyond  the  field  of  scientific  experiments  and 
observations.  To  preach  evolution  would  undermine  the  faith  of 
the  common  people  in  the  Bible  story  of  creation  without  giving 
them  a  satisfying  substitute  and  would  place  in  the  hands  of  the 
better  educated  a  weapon  of  much  fruitless  argument.  Any  un- 
settling of  the  faith  of  the  people  in  the  Bible  will  react  upon  the 
Church  and  weaken  our  missionary  effort.  We  must  preach  the 
Gospel  as  the  tried  and  tested  truth,  given  us  for  our  salvation, 
and  the  whole  Bible  as  the  sure  word  of  God. 

Neither  is  it  wise  to  preach  reform  to  the  foreigners  in  order 
to  reach  them,  as  much  as  we  desire  their  reformation.  We  must 
follow  the  example  of  Wesley,  in  Litchfield,  where  he  found  the 
people  reeling  in  drunkenness  nightly,  yet  said  little  about 
temperance,  but  preached  the  Gospel,  with  the  result  of  a  great 
revival  and  an  abandonment  of  the  part  of  the  people  of  their 
immoral  habits.  It  is  difficult,  indeed  almost  impossible,  to  reform 
a  foreigner  before  his  conversion,  but  when  he  has  been  born  to 
a  new  life  he  is  a  total  abstainer  and  often  a  prohibitionist  from 
conviction.  The  Gospel  must  be  preached  first,  the  heart  must 
be  changed  first,  the  kingdom  of  God  must  first  be  built  up  as  a 
governing  power,  and  the  reformation  of  character  will  follow  as 
a  natural  and  God-intended  consequence,  just  as  a  good  tree  will 
bring  forth  good  fruit.  I  am  afraid  we  as  a  whole  Church  have 
been  trying  to  reform  men  from  their  sins  rather  than  to  save 
them  from  their  sins,  and  have  reversed  God's  order — first 
salvation,  then  reformation, 

2.  We  must  have  faith  in  the  efficacy  of  the  Gospel.  We  have 
branded  the  infidelity  which  doubts  or  denies  the  existence  of 
God  with  such  names  as  agnosticism,  rationalism,  skepticism, 
materialism,  and  made  it  almost  harmless  by  taking  a  positive 
stand  against  it  as  a  Church.  But  there  is  another  kind  of  un- 
belief, which  consists  in  practically  denying  the  power  of  the 
Gospel  to  save  every  one  that  believeth,  and  consequently  denying 
that  it  is  the  God-ordained  medium  through  which  humanity  is 
to  be  saved.  We  too  often  preach  and  pray  and  sing  without 
expecting  any  definite  results,  without  faith  that  some  sinner  will 
repent  and  turn  to  God  for  salvation.     This  unbelief  is  excused 


WORK    AMONG    FOREIGNERS    IN    AMERICA  II5 

or  justified  by  a  persuasion  that  the  sermon  has  pleased,  6r  the 
service  has  entertained  the  audience,  or  that  the  word  has  been 
preached  as  a  witness  against  them,  so  they  will  have  no  excuse. 
Preaching  the  Gospel  is  too  serious  business  to  be  considered 
as  a  means  of  entertainment,  and  too  full  of  hope  and  promise 
to  be  preached  as  a  witness  against  the  hearers,  which  is  an 
incidental  result,  if  they  do  not  accept  it.  We  should  preach  it 
as  a  witness  to  them,  that  is,  we  should  be  witnesses  by  word  of 
mouth  and  power  of  spirit  for  the  truth  and  efficacy  of  the 
Gospel,  and  thus  carry  out  the  great  commission  of  Christ  to 
preach  the  Gospel  to  all  nations  and  to  disciple  them  in  the  name 
of  the  Father,  the  Son,  and  the  Holy  Ghost.  For  it  is  this  faith- 
less preaching  that  has  alienated  the  masses  from  the  churches 
in  Europe  and  that  will  never  attract  them  to  the  churches  in 
America. 

3.  We  must  have  faith  in  the  Gospel  as  a  power  unto  salvation  A  Power  unto 
of  all  peoples.  We  often  hear  it  said  :  "The  Gospel  has  done  much  *^^**  °° 
for  the  Anglo-Saxons,  for  it  seems  especially  suited  for  their 
needs."  But  of  certain  classes  we  say,  they  are  hard  to  reach, 
and  of  others,  they  cannot  be  reached  at  all.  The  Gospel  has 
brought  rich  blessings  to  the  Anglo-Saxon  race,  spiritual,  intel- 
lectual, and  material.  But  there  are  the  great  Teutonic  peoples, 
the  Frisians,  the  Germans,  the  Swedes,  the  Norwegians,  and  the 
Danish.  And  there  are  the  Slavs,  filling  Russia,  Bulgaria,  Poland, 
and  Bohemia  with  teeming  millions.  There  are  also  the  Latin 
races  of  Italy,  France,  Spain,  and  Portugal,  as  well  as  the  Greeks 
and  Jews,  who  all  throng  our  shores,  not  to  speak  of  the  Indian, 
the  Chinese,  the  African,  and  the  Arab,  who  dwell  in  foreign  coun- 
tries. What  authority  have  we  for  saying  that  the  Gospel  is  not 
suited  to  the  needs  of  all  these  people?  Why  should  we  halt  this 
side  of  a  possible,  yes,  a  necessary  salvation  for  all  humanity? 
Was  God  made  manifest  in  the  flesh  of  one  race  only,  of  the 
Anglo-Saxon  or  the  German?  No,  God  was  manifested  in  the 
flesh.  Was  he  the  son  of  David  only?  No,  he  was  the  Son  of 
Alan,  of  humanity.  Was  he  a  high  priest  for  only  one  nation 
after  the  order  of  Aaron,  who  sacrificed  for  Israel  only?  No,  he 
was  a  high  priest  for  all  peoples  eternally  after  the  order  of 
Melchizedek.  Then  the  fact  that  the  Gospel  has  brought  such 
rich  blessings  to  the  Anglo-Saxon  race  should  serve  as  an 
incentive  to  preach  it  to  all  peoples.     So  far  from  discouraging 


ii6 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


The  Mother 
Tongue 


The  Level  of 
Companion- 
ship 


Personal 
Work 


US,  the  people  to  whom  it  has  brought  salvation  and  civilization 
should  be  an  earnest  and  sure  first  fruits  of  the  approaching 
harvest  of  the  myriads  of  unsaved  in  every  land  under  the  sun. 

4.  We  must  use  the  language  of  the  people  among  whom  we 
work.  If  the  truth  shall  appeal  to  the  reason  of  the  hearer,  if  the 
hidden  springs  of  emotion  shall  be  touched,  it  must  be  done  by 
the  means  of  the  mother  tongue.  I  was  once  asked  by  an  English- 
speaking  Methodist  minister  why  we  Germans  did  not  come  over 
to  the  English-speaking  church  and  worship  in  the  language  of 
our  country  and  be  patriotic.  I  asked  him  if  he  had  had  any 
experience  with  Germans.  He  answered  that  he  had  been  among 
Germans  twenty-five  years  and  at  times  where  they  had  no 
church.  "How  many  of  these  Germans  vi^ere  converted  and  joined 
your  church?"  I  asked.  "Well,"  he  answered,  "come  to  think, 
not  any."  If  you  would  count  the  number  of  Christians  who  are 
reached  in  their  native  tongue  and  also  those  who  have  been 
brought  to  Christ  by  means  of  a  foreign  language  the  proportion 
would  be  one  to  one  hundred  or  five  hundred  in  favor  of  the 
vernacular. 

5.  We  must  meet  the  foreigners  on  their  level.  I  do  not  say 
go  up  or  down  to  their  level.  In  obedience  to  the  command  of 
Christ  we  must  go  out  to  them,  as  they  are  not  expected  to  come 
to  us  first,  and  hold  services  among  them  in  their  homes,  in 
schoolhouses,  in  tents,  in  churches  of  other  denominations  until 
we  can  gather  them  in  churches  of  our  own.  We  must  gather 
their  children  into  Sunday  school  and  kindergarten  and  win  these 
children  and  the  parents  through  the  children.  We  must  not 
show  an  air  of  superiority.  We  must  work  on  their  level ;  we 
must  be  familiar  with  their  religious  thinking  and  their  intellec- 
tual habits.  We  must  build  on  what  faith  they  already  possess, 
without  denying  any  truth  existing  in  their  minds.  We  should 
identify  ourselves  with  them,  live  with  them,  eat  and  drink  with 
them,  make  their  welfare  our  welfare,  bear  the  reproaches  that 
are  heaped  upon  foreigners  in  this  country,  just  as  Christ  ate  and 
drank  with  the  publicans  and  sinners  and  shared  the  stigma 
attached  to  their  station,  in  order  that  he  might  reach  them. 

6.  We  must  do  personal  work  in  our  effort  to  save  them.  We 
can  do  personal  work  by  kind  words.  We  have  done  much 
general  work  in  our  services,  and  of  late  not  enough  personal 
work  among  the  people.     As  a  Church  we  depend  too  much  on 


WORK   AMONG    FOREIGNRRS    IN    AMERICA 


117 


outside  help;  we  have  even  conie  to  depend  soincwiiat  on 
travehng  evangehsts,  with  their  new  books  and  photos,  who  come 
and  go  and  whose  influence,  barring  noble  exceptions,  goes  with 
them.  I  would  not,  however,  disparage  revival  efforts,  but  the 
pastor  should  be  the  leader.  Though  he  may  be  assisted  by  some 
proper  colabOrers,  he  is  the  Church-appointed  and  God-ordained 
person  to  win  souls  in  his  parish.  He  is  the  only  suitable  person 
to  build  up  his  own  congregation.  But  his  revival  effort  should 
be  followed  up  by  personal  effort  on  the  part  of  himself  and  of 
carefully  selected  members  of  his  church.  We  sometimes  have  a 
certain  false  fear  or  shame  in  approaching  the  .unconverted  on 
the  all-important  question  of  their  soul's  salvation,  which  they, 
however,  e.xpect  us  to  do,  and  which  we  certainly  nmst  do  or  share 
the  responsibility  of  their  being  lost.  A  young  professor  in  one 
of  our  schools  won  the  confidence  of  a  bright  skeptical  young 
student.  Both  attended  the  same  revival  meetings  held  at  the 
college — one  to  worship,  the  other  apparently  to  criticise.  Be- 
tween meetings  they  talked  on  all  subjects  except  religion, 
although  the  professor  heard  a  voice  ever  prompting  him  to  open 
that  subject  also.  Finally  in  a  room  alone  with  the  student  he 
hesitatingly  said,  "Mr.  Smith,  I  have  been  wanting  to  talk  to 
you  about  being  a  Christian,  but — "  and  to  his  surprise  and  delight 
the  student  answered:  "I  have  been  expecting  it,  professor,  and 
I  am  glad  you  opened  that  subject.  I  am  not  satisfied  with  my- 
self." Then  the  way  was  open  for  heart-to-heart  work.  They 
talked  and  consulted  the  Bible  on  the  subject  of  religion  just  as 
they  conversed  on  other  subjects,  and  on  their  knees  prayed  to 
God  for  light.  And  soon  the  student  accepted  Christ  as  his 
personal  Saviour  and  became  an  enthusiastic  worker  among  his 
fellow-students.  This  is  the  kind  of  work  most  needed  in  our 
Church  to-day.  What  strides  the  Church  would  make  if  there 
were  only  a  score  of  such  valuable  assistants  to  each  pastor ! 

This  personal  contact  may  be  opened  through  a  tract  gotten  up 
in  an  attractive  form  and  presented  in  a  proper  spirit.  I  fear  we 
have  been  neglecting  the  old-time  systematic  and  conscientious 
distribution  of  the  tract.  In  emphasizing  the  Gospel  tract  I  would 
not  reflect  upon  our  Church  papers,  which  cannot  serve  as  a  sub- 
stitute for  a  tract.  The  Church  paper  comes  to  our  Christian 
homes,  aiding  the  pastor  in  building  up  the  kingdom  of  God 
within  the  Church,  and  if  sent  to  non-Christian  homes  it  must 


The  Pastor's 

Eevival 

Effort 


Tract 
Distribution 


Il8  THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 

necessarily  lack  the  definiteiiess  and  purposefulness  of  a  tract 
carefully  selected  according  to  the  needs  of  the  receiver,  as  also 
the  personality  which  is  felt  in  the  presentation  of  such  a  tract  by 
a  Christian  man  or  woman  who  can  follow  up  the  results  with 
further  helpfulness.  A  thousand  suitable  persons  should  be  found 
in  every  average  Conference  to  assist  the  pastors  as  conscientious 
and  systematic  tract  bearers. 

Help  in  Need  Again  this  helpful  religious  contact  may  be  introduced  by  a 
good  deed  or  any  act  of  kindness.  There  is  nothing  that  the 
stranger  within  our  gates  appreciates  more  than  help  in  need,  and 
comfort  in  distress,  when  poverty  stares  him  in  the  face,  when 
sickness  enters  his  home,  or  when  death  takes  away  a  dear  one. 
Though  he  may  never  have  attended  a  church  in  this  country,  he 
will  become  affectionately  attached  to  the  man  or  woman  who 
brings  him  aid  at  this  time  and  directs  him  to  Jesus  as  his  friend 
and  will  accept  an  invitation  to  attend  church,  especially  if  it  be 
from  a  countryman.  If  the  visitor  be  a  minister  he  will  be  called 
again,  perhaps  to  baptize  a  child  or  to  perform  a  marriage  cere- 
mony, when  friends  of  the  family  will  be  present  and  a  larger  field 
of  influence  will  open  to  him.  This  has  ever  been  one  of  the  many 
duties  of  the  minister  which  he  has  found  too  little  time  to  per- 
form. But,  thank  God,  we  are  coming  to  his  aid  by  our  hospitals 
and  deaconesses  and  nurses,  which  we  hope  may  so  multiply  that 
we  will  have  help  in  every  congregation  from  these  agencies 
which  so  strikingly  exhibit  the  spirit  of  Christ. 

The  Port  Then  let  me  draw  attention  also  to  our  port  mission,  where  the 

ission  missionary  meets  the  foreigner  as  he  first  steps  upon  our  shores. 

This  work  has  not  prospered  in  the  German  mission  of  our 
Church  of  late,  because  the  burden  being  too  heavy  for  the  East 
German  Conference  alone,  the  emigrant  house  was  sold,  and  we 
now  have  only  an  office  and  a  missionary,  who,  for  lack  of  funds, 
can  give  only  part  of  his  time  to  this  blessed  work.  It  should  be 
revived,  however,  and  might  be  enlarged  to  a  mission  for  all 
nationalities,  which  could  work  in  harmony  with  a  similar  mission 
in  Bremen  and  other  foreign  ports.  There  is  no  more  hopeful 
mission  than  a  port  mission,  where  the  foreigner  receives  his  first 
impression  in  a  new  country  before  he  has  chosen  his  worldly 
associates,  and  where  he  can  be  directed  to  one  of  our  ministers 
or  other  good  men  who  can  continue  the  good  work  begun  here. 
I  would  suggest  that  the  Missionary  Board  give  this  matter  con- 


WORK    AMONG    FOREIGNERS    IN    AMERICA  II9 

sideration  and  also  give  the  whole  question  of  missions  among 
our  foreigners  special  attention  as  a  promising,  important  and,  if 
I  may  so  call  it,  patriotic  mission  field,  which  is  constantly  being 
replenished  and  overfilled  with  new  material  from  abroad,  now 
from  Germany,  then  from  Italy,  and  at  present  in  great  numbers 
from  Norway  and  Sweden.  This  material  must  be  Christianized 
and  Americanized  in  the  best  sense  of  these  words.  It  is  impor- 
tant enough  to  receive  special  department  supervision  of  the 
Church,  so  that  its  connectional  interests  may  be  better  built  up 
by  organized  harmonious  effort,  at  least  in  each  nationality.  Both 
on  the  high  ground  of  love  and  duty  and  from  a  prudential  point 
of  view  it  will  pay  the  Church  a  hundredfold  to  turn  more  of  its 
energies  and  moneys  toward  building  up  the  eleemosynary  and 
educational  as  well  as  the  missionary  departments  of  our  work 
among  the  foreigners. 

We  have  come  up  from  small  beginnings  to  considerable  The  Day  of 
numbers  in  spite  of  discouragements,  and  we  have  no  reason  to  ™*  °S* 
dispair.  Our  increase  has  generally  been  proportionate  to  the 
increase  of  the  mother  Church,  and  in  no  year  have  we  had  a 
decrease.  Only  about  sixty-five  years  ago  a  lonely  foreigner 
wandered  about  in  this  country,  attending  now  one  or  another 
Mehodist  meetings  under  deep  conviction  of  sin.  He  accepts  a 
position  as  professor  of  Hebrew  and  Greek,  but  at  night  he  sits 
at  the  feet  of  a  humble  cobbler,  a  man  of  strong  faith.  Now  he 
is  at  the  mourners'  bench  with  scores  of  others.  And  as  he  ob- 
serves how  one  after  another  is  made  glad  in  the  Lord,  he  sobs, 
"O,  is  there  not  enough  bread  in  my  Father's  house?"  and  sud- 
denly the  light  breaks  in  on  his  long  night  of  repentance 
and  the  love  of  God  fills  his  heart,  and  William  Nast  is  William 
converted.  He  immediately  feels  the  call  to  preach  the  Gos-  ^*'^ 
pel  to  his  countrymen  in  America  and  asks  the  Methodist 
Church  to  send  him.  It  hesitates.  But  when  it  heard  the 
earnest  pleading  of  Nast  it  said,  "Go,  in  the  name  of  the 
Lord,"  and  our  work  among  the  Germans  has  been  the  result. 
A  young  German  physician  enters  one  of  his  first  mission  meet- 
ings to  criticise  the  preacher.  The  sermon  touched  his  heart,  and 
the  young  scoffer,  Nicodemus-like,  comes  to  the  young  missionary 
by  night  and  asks  concerning  the  way  of  salvation.  He  is  con- 
verted to  God.  He  soon  founds  missions  in  the  West  and  then 
asks  the  board  to   send  him  to   Germany   to  preach   the   good 


120 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


tidings  to  his  countrymen.  The  board  refused  from  lack  of 
funds,  but  when  they  saw  the  fire  in  Jacoby's  eyes  they  said, 
"Go,  in  the  name  of  the  Lord,"  and  our  work  in  the  Fatherland  of 
only  fifty  years'  standing  has  been  the  glorious  result. 

Fifty  years  ago  a  young  Norwegian,  sailing  hither  and  thither, 
lands  at  Boston.  Attracted  by  the  favor  of  the  Methodists  he 
seeks  spiritual  advice  from  them,  and  comes  to  the  glad  realiza- 
tion of  saving  grace.  He  returns  to  his  home  country  to  tell  his 
delightful  experience,  with  the  result  of  a  revival  in  which  many 
were  converted.  He  opens  missions  among  his  countrymen  in 
America,  and  O.  P.  Petersen  is  called  the  father  of  Norwegian 
Methodism. 

John  Larson,  a  young  Swede,  is  soundly  converted  in  our 
Bethel  Ship  Mission  and  tells  the  story  of  the  cross  to  his  country- 
men, and  our  work  is  begun  among  the  Swedes,  both  in  Sweden 
and  America,  and  has  gloriously  flourished  during  the  last  forty 
years.    Other  missions  spring  up  in  close  succession. 

If  we  were  to  ask  to-day  if  it  has  paid  to  come  up  through  past 
dilBculties  such  as  the  persecutions  and  scoffings  of  unchristian 
foreigners,  the  prejudicial  opinion  of  the  Americans,  the  deficient 
connectionalism,  the  scattering  population,  and  whether  we  should 
continue  in  face  of  present  discouragements  like  the  language 
problem,  which  we  are  trying  to  solve,  the  Germans  and  Swedes, 
and  Norwegians  and  Danish,  and  Welsh  and  French,  and  Italians 
and  Bohemians,  and  Finlanders,  who  are  a  direct  or  an  indirect 
fruit  of  our  work  among  the  foreigners  in  this  and  European 
countries,  would  give  the  answer  several  hundred  thousand  strong, 
Yes!  for  the  sake  of  the  thousands  who  have  been  influenced  in 
our  Sunday  schools  and  are  now  in  our  reach,  for  the  sake  of  the 
thousands  whose  prejudices  have  been  removed  by  our  successes, 
for  the  sake  of  the  millions  who  have  never  been  touched  by  the 
living  Word,  for  the  sake  of  our  foreign  fields  which  are  de- 
pendent on  our  success.  If  such  things  were  possible  from  so 
small  a  beginning  in  so  short  a  time,  we  may  expect  far  greater 
results  with  our  stronger  membership,  our  larger  fields,  and  better 
equipment.  The  field  is  open,  the  laborers  are  at  hand,  the  means 
will  be  forthcoming,  God's  promises  are  unfailing,  and  greater 
things  are  in  store  for  us,  if  we  will  but  move  forward  with  a 
firm  faith  in  God  and  a  burning  love  for  lost  souls.  God  give  us 
more  of  this  faith  and  this  love ! 


OUR    CITY    PROBLEM 


121 


OUR  CITY  PROBLEM 

The   Rev.    F.    M.    North,    D.D. 

The  problem  of  the  city  is  the  problem  of  the  world.  It  is  not 
merely  modern — there  are  Alexandria  and  Athens  and  Ephesus. 
It  is  not  wholly  occidental — there  are  Calcutta  and  Tokyo  and 
Peking.  It  is  not  Anglo-Saxon  alone — there  are  Madrid  and  St. 
Petersburg  and  Vienna.  It  is  wider  than  America — there  are 
Edinburgh  and  Manchester  and  Melbourne,  The  crudest  con- 
vulsion of  the  Christian  centuries  centered  in  the  city  on  the 
Seine.  The  most  potent  government  of  the  world  is  in  the  city 
upon  the  Thames.  The  Enigma  of  the  Faith,  whose  word  to  the 
rim  of  the  world  binds  fast  the  consciences  of  men,  has  his  seat 
in  the  city  by  the  Tiber.  The  world's  supreme  tragedy  took  place 
just  "outside  a  city's  wall."  One  need  but  speak  the  names — 
Paris,  London,  Rome,  Jerusalem — to  be  convinced  that  the  prob- 
lem of  the  city  is  the  problem  of  the  world.  But  upon  this 
background  of  continent  and  centuries  it  is  America  that  rises 
before  us.  We  must  not  by  too  wide  a  look  risk  the  peril  of  what 
Dr.  Watkinson  calls  "the  malignance  of  the  law  of  perspective." 
It  is  our  city  problem. 

First,  then,  it  states  itself.  Its  most  obvious  terms  are  those 
of  extension.  Inevitably  we  count.  Bigness  stirs  our  interest, 
but  is  often  the  smallest  element  in  a  problem.  Some  questions 
cannot  be  answered  in  square  miles.  In  the  matter  of  bread  and 
hunger  a  fertile  acre  measures  more  than  the  Sahara.  All  the 
marvels  are  not  in  the  census  tables.  Yet  it  was  one  of  the 
deepest  notes  of  our  Lord's  nature  that  he  was  ever  strangely 
moved  in  the  presence  of  the  nmltitude.  And  it  is  an  inadequate 
if  not  a  depraved  heart  that  can  look  upon  the  cities  of  America — 
not  the  streets,  the  buildings,  the  art,  the  commerce,  but  the 
people — for  the  city  is  people — without  the  stir  of  emotion  which 
opens  new  depths  in  the  soul.  For  a  moment  let  us  measure  and 
count. 

Begin  with  the  metropolis  and  distribute  it  into  well-known 
terms.  Three  great  railroads  radiate  from  New  York  city.  One 
leads  eastward.  Suppose  New  England  swept  clean  of  her  popu- 
lation. Let  the  inhabitants  of  New  York  move  out  upon  that 
railroad.     From  them  every  city,  large  and  small,  from  Mount 


It  is  the 
World's 
Problem 


Stated  in 
Terms  of 
Extensiou 


New  York 
City 


122 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


Foreign  Ports 
and  Capitals 


The  Six 
Largest  Cities 


The  Great 
Northwest 


Vernon  to  Boston  might  be  repeopled,  then  Maine,  New  Hamp- 
shire, Vermont,  Rhode  Island,  and  Connecticut  could  be  supplied 
and  enough  would  remain  to  replace  the  population  of  every  one 
of  the  seven  great  manufacturing  cities  of  Massachusetts.  Or,  if 
the  metropolis  were  to  be  left  unpeopled,  and  drafts  for  a  new 
era  were  to  be  made  upon  the  cities  through  which  many  of  us 
have  come  to  this  Convention,  the  levy  would  depopulate  Yonkers, 
Poughkeepsie,  Troy,  Albany,  Schenectady,  Utica,  Syracuse, 
Rochester,  and  Buffalo ;  it  would  need  to  add  to  these  Cleveland, 
Toledo,  and  Chicago  and  nearly  all  of  Minneapolis,  Milwaukee, 
or  St.  Paul. 

Use  other  terms.  Trace  our  commerce  to  foreign  ports.  You 
must  mass  together  ten  of  them — Glasgow,  Liverpool,  Copen- 
hagen, Antwerp,  Bremen,  Hamburg,  Havre,  Marseilles,  Lisbon, 
and  Genoa — to  reach  the  aggregate  population  now  within  the 
metropolitan  limits.  It  would  require  the  capitals  of  France  and 
Russia — Paris  and  St.  Petersburg — or  those  of  the  three  allies, 
Austria,  Germany,  and  Italy — Vienna,  Berlin,  and  Rome — or  the 
group  of  eleven  smaller  capitals  from  Sweden  to  Tripoli — Stock- 
holm, Christiania,  Copenhagen,  The  Hague,  Brussels,  Berne, 
Madrid,  Athens,  Constantinople,  Cairo,  Fez — to  replace  the  popu- 
lation now  crowded  within  the  limits  of  326  square  miles. 

Once  more.  The  six  largest  cities  of  the  United  States — those 
of  500,000  inhabitants  and  over — Baltimore,  Boston,  Chicago, 
New  York,  Philadelphia,  and  St.  Louis,  contain  with  their  en- 
virons 11,125,009  people — one  seventh  of  the  entire  population 
of  the  United  States.  These  six  cities  themselves  have  within 
their  corporate  limits,  upon  an  area  of  about  1,500  square  miles, 
an  average  of  over  5,250  persons  to  the  square  mile,  7,902,813 
people — a  population  as  large  as  that  of  the  entire  country  at  the 
time  of  the  war  of  181 2 — in  density  all  the  way  from  Chicago's 
sparsely  settled  prairie  lots  to  the  block  in  New  York  where  last 
night  slept  4,000  people  on  a  ground  space  of  less  than  four  acres, 
or  1,200  persons  to  the  acre.  Express  these  figures  in  terms 
familiar  to  those  assembled  here  from  half  a  hundred  States  and 
Territories.  North  of  the  Ohio  and  east  of  the  Mississippi  are 
109  cities  of  population  between  25,000  and  400,000.  It  requires 
them  all  to  match  the  number  who  dwell  in  these  six  largest  cities. 
Westward  of  longitude  97°  stretches  a  great  domain  of  States 
and   Territories,   containing,   with  the  omission   of    Texas  and 


OUR    CITY    PROBLEM 


123 


Alaska,  1,566,000  square  miles.  It  is  not  all  habitable;  some  of 
it  is  desert,  some  is  built  on  edge,  and  some  is  above  the  timber 
line.  But  here  are  seventeen  States  and  Territories,  held  by  the 
nation  and  by  the  Church  to  be  one  of  the  world's  great  mission 
fields  for  commerce  and  religion.  In  its  1,500,000  square  miles 
are  scattered,' with  the  variation  of  perhaps  100,000,  the  same 
number  of  people  that  are  concentrated  upon  the  1,500  square 
miles  of  our  six  largest  cities. 

If  smaller  areas  make  the  statement  more  concrete,  mark  the 
facts  in  three  great  States.  In  Ohio  are  nine  cities  of  over  25,000 
inhabitants;  for  every  5,000  who  live  outside  those  cities  2,000 
live  within  them.  Pennsylvania  has  in  similar  cities  2,500,000 
people,  three  eighths  of  her  total  population.  Out  of  New  York's 
population  of  7,200,000,  there  are  found  in  such  cities  4,500,000, 
five  eighths  of  the  whole.  These  are  but  divisions  and  variations 
of  the  statements  so  familiar  that  their  impressiveness  is  often 
lost — that  the  urban  population  is  thirty-three  per  cent  of  the 
whole;  in  a  word,  that  our  problem,  whatever  it  means,  however 
it  may  be  solved,  disregarding  its  far-reaching,  indirect  influences, 
is  the  direct  concern  of  one  soul  out  of  every  three  in  our  land. 

Were  this  condition  stationary  it  would  be  significant.  But  it 
is  not  a  quiet  sea  with  gentle  lift  and  fall — it  is  a  current  flowing 
steadily,  ever  deeper,  ever  wider.  The  speed  at  which  this  stream 
of  population  sets  toward  the  cities  slackened  during  the  past 
decade.  Yet  the  ratio  of  increase,  twenty-one  per  cent  for  the 
entire  population  and  thirty-seven  per  cent  for  the  urban  popula- 
tion, is  ominous.  On  the  Atlantic  seaboard  only  three  States  out 
of  nine  are  left  with  a  majority  of  their  population  outside  the 
city.  Of  every  hundred  persons  added  to  the  population  during 
that  decade  fifty-eight  are  found  in  the  cities.  There  are  now 
160  cities  of  25,000  population  and  over — a  net  gain  of  38  in  ten 
years.  One  out  of  every  five  of  our  people  lives  in  such  a  city. 
Of  the  twenty  cities  of  the  first  rank  in  1800  but  one  reached  a 
population  of  over  60,000,  while  the  total  number  of  their  inhab- 
itants was  only  250,000.  Fifty  years  later  there  were  six  cities 
with  a  population  exceeding  100,000,  with  a  total  for  the  twenty 
principal  cities  of  1,800,000.  At  the  beginning  of  the  present 
century  we  have  38  cities  of  100,000  population  and  over,  of  which 
the  first  twenty  contain  nearly  12,000,000  people.  If  cities  of 
100,000  as  a  minimum  be  classed  as  of  the  first  rank,  our  country 


The  Cities  of 
Three  Great 
States 


The  Flow  of 
Population  to 
Cities 


The  Rapid 
Rise  of  Large 
Cities 


124 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


The  Problem 
in  Terms  of 
Intension 


waited  until  1820  for  its  first  one,  and  in  it  at  that  time  123,700 
people  dwelt,  1.28  per  cent  of  the  whole  population.  In  eighty 
years  this  one  has  become  thirty-eight,  in  which  are  now  found 
over  14,000,000,  or  18.62  per  cent  of  the  total  population.  New 
York  city  had  at  the  beginning  of  the  century  a  population  of 
60,000;  it  now  has  sixt}^  times  that  number.  There  are  now  in 
Chicago  and  New  York  nearly  as  many  people  as  there  were  in 
the  whole  land  in  1800.  Of  the  thirty-four  assembly  districts  in 
New  York  there  are  eleven  each  of  which  contains  a  greater 
population  than  that  of  the  entire  city  a  hundred  years  ago. 

Stated  thus  in  terms  of  extension,  our  city  problem  deals  with 
vast  numbers.  The  city  is  not  a  phrase ;  it  is  people.  It  shows 
these  people  in  aggregates  ever  increasing  in  number  and  con- 
centration, both  relatively  to  themselves  and  to  the  growing 
population.  Not  only  is  the  gross  total  becoming  greater,  but  the 
tendency  is  constantly  toward  the  combination  in  larger  numbers, 
that  is,  to  great  cities. 

But  our  city  problem  states  itself  also  in  terms  of  intension. 
It  has  depth  as  well  as  breadth.  We  must  measure  not  alone  by 
tape  line,  but  by  plummet. 

Problems  of  life  belong  to  each  man  in  himself.  They  would 
demand  solution  if  there  were  but  one  man  in  the  world.  They 
are  individual.  Where  there  is  another  man  problems  of  a  new 
phase  appear.  To  the  individual  is  added  the  mutual.  Let  the 
third  man  come  upon  the  scene  and  fresh  occasions  arise,  a  new 
order  must  be  established,  problems  become  communal.  The 
cities  are  communities.  Whatever  inheres  in  the  individual — 
physical  and  mental  aptitudes,  hereditary  tendencies,  capacity  for 
life,  personality — belongs  as  inalienably  to  the  human  unit  in  the 
mass  as  it  does  to  the  trapper  in  the  pathless  forest  or  the 
philosopher  in  the  isolation  of  his  mountain  retreat.  Were  the 
city  no  more  than  the  aggregation  of  these  individual  units,  the 
problem  of  life  by  mere  multiplication  would  become  most  intense 
and  mysterious.  But  the  city  is  not  the  aggregation,  but  the 
congregation,  of  people.  The  touch  is  not  that  of  external  contact 
alone,  but  of  the  interpenetration  of  lives.  The  environment  is  not 
natural,  it  is  artificial ;  the  pressure  is  not  that  of  the  great  inani- 
mate facts,  but  that  of  vital,  insistent  personality.  The  natural 
tendencies  of  men  combined  with  the  artificial  conditions  of  a 
composite  life  make  the  city  the  supreme  test  both  of  the  indi- 


OUR    CITY    PROBLEM 


125 


vidual  character  and  of  the  social  order.     In  the  interactit)n  of 
these  units  of  personaHty  is  the  very  crisis  of  Hfe. 

Here,  then,  our  problem  deals  with  every  type  of  character  and  All  Sorts  and 
all  the  races  of  the  world.  Into  these  crucial  communities  have  ^°°q^*^°°^  "^ 
crowded  all  sorts  and  conditions  of  men.  We  may  well  adopt  the 
prayer  book's  phrase.  Africa,  Asia,  and  Europe  are  around  the 
corner  from  each  other.  Celt  and  Teuton,  Czech  and  Slav,  Latia 
and  Semite,  Negro  and  Mongolian,  tread  the  same  pavements 
and  buy  at  the  same  counters.  In  a  recent  canvass  of  one  assem- 
bly district  we  found  thirty-five  nationalities  in  an  area  of  a  dozen 
squares.  There  are  fully  600,000  Hebrews — German,  Russian, 
Polish,  Roumanian — in  the  metropolis ;  out  of  every  four  per- 
sons in  Manhattan  Borough  one  is  a  Jew.  Where  Methodism 
centered  in  the  strong  churches  which  gave  tone  and  vigor  to  the 
great  movement  in  its  earlier  days,  the  Gentile  population  is  now 
not  more  than  one  per  cent.  They  of  Italy  salute  us.  The 
peasantry  of  the  Campagna  and  of  Sicily  are  finding  new  homes 
in  the  worst  crowded  sections  of  every  city.  In  New  York  we 
have  an  Italian  city  as  large  as  Venice,  larger  than  Columbus, 
Ohio,  by  10,000.  There  is  a  building  in  Chinatown  which  has  a 
Methodist  mission  on  the  first  floor  and  a  Joss  house  on  the  third. 
The  names  on  some  of  the  Sunday  school  registers,  on  poll  lists, 
in  our  city  directories ;  a  catalogue  of  our  newspapers  and  the 
merchandise  signs  of  our  streets ;  the  class  lists  of  our  public 
schools  and  the  panels  of  our  juries ;  the  commitment  papers  of 
our  courts  and  the  record  books  of  our  almshouses  and  hospitals, 
to  say  nothing  of  our  prisons,  ofTer  a  concrete  demonstration  of 
the  presence  of  the  foreigners  in  our  cities  with  which  the  colder  oid-World 
statements  of  the  census  fail  to  impress  us.  Racial  characteristics  ^^^l^  ^'^' 
survive.  The  prejudice  of  oppression  dies  slowly.  The  rebel  Environment 
against  one  social  order  does  not  with  cheerfulness  accept  another. 
The  hater  of  a  false  religion  does  not  at  a  moment  become  a  lover 
of  the  true.  The  plotter  against  corrupt  government  suspects 
iniquity  in  all  authority.  American  air,  especially  that  of  cities, 
does  not  at  once  change  the  deformed  into  the  upright,  or  make 
the  ignorant  wise.  Old- World  thoughts  but  sluggishly  fill  New- 
World  molds.  Language  expresses,  but  it  also  petrifies.  Our 
problem  is  the  city,  intensified  by  the  perplexities  of  every  race 
and  region  of  the  whole  world ;  it  is  more  than  a  city  problem — 
it  is  the  problem  of  the  cosmopolis. 


126 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


The 

Economics 
of  Hunger 


Questions 
that  Burn 


Homeless- 
ness  of  the 
Great  City 


But  the  statement  of  the  intension  of  the  problem  does  not  stop 
here.  Every  question  which  has  ever  vexed  the  world  emerges 
and  W'ith  new  emphasis  makes  its  demand. 

Here  is  the  fight  with  hunger.  The  wolf  at  the  door  is  a  rural 
figure — it  is  a  civic  fact.  In  every  great  city  a  large  percentage 
of  the  people — in  New  York,  Jacob  Riis  says,  it  is  one  third — are 
at  or  beyond  the  line  of  helpless  poverty.  They  are  where  the 
increase  of  a  penny  in  the  loaf  means  less  bread ;  where  five  cents 
more  for  a  pail  of  coal  is  the  beginning  of  disaster ;  where  cessa- 
tion of  work  or  of  help  for  two  weeks  would  mean  starvation  or 
the  poorhouse.  These  are  not  merely  what  Mr.  H.  G.  Wells  in 
his  Anticipations  declares  we  must  always  have  in  our  large 
cities — "the  submerged  portion  of  the  social  body,  a  leaderless, 
aimless  multitude,  a  multitude  of  people  drifting  down  toward 
the  abyss,"  whose  presence  and  individual  doom  will  be  unavoid- 
able, at  any  rate  for  many  generations  of  men — ''an  integral  part 
of  this  physiological  process  of  mechanical  progress,  as  inevitable 
in  the  social  body  as  are  waste  matter  and  disintegrating  cells  in 
the  body  of  an  active  and  healthy  man" — not  merely  these,  but  the 
day  laborer,  the  small  mechanic,  the  casual,  the  seamstress,  the 
hundreds  of  thousands  of  young  men  and  women  who  earn  no 
margin  above  the  bare  necessity,  a  multitude  whose  woes  and 
anxieties  haunt  us  like  spectral  thoughts  in  the  darkness. 

Questions  of  property  become  acute  where,  for  example,  but 
six  out  of  a  hundred  are  property  owners.  The  right  of  private 
ownership  ceases  to  be  academic  where  the  measure  of  values  is 
inches  and  not  miles.  Where  the  tenants  are  many  and  the 
owners  are  few,  economics  is  more  than  theory ;  rent,  wages, 
interest,  and  taxes  become  questions  that  burn. 

And  the  home !  Alas !  the  pity  of  it,  the  crowded,  homeless 
city !  Cardinal  Manning  declared,  "Domestic  life  creates  a 
nation."  America  needs  to  remember  it.  Somewhere  Frederick 
W.  Robertson  says :  "A  happy  home  is  the  single  spot  of  rest 
which  a  man  has  upon  the  earth  for  the  cultivation  of  his  noblest 
sensibilities."  Write  this  fine  sentiment  large  upon  your  banner 
and  carry  it  about  through  the  streets  which  you  and  I  know. 
The  multitudes  thronging  the  sidewalks,  panting  upon  the  door- 
steps, peering  forth  from  festering  alleys,  leaning  from  the  one 
window  of  their  dingy  cubicles,  will  applaud  the  fair  ideal  and 
decry  you  for  a  fool  and  as  prisoners  stretch  out  their  hands  for 


OUR    CITY    PROBLEM  127 

liberty  until  their  shackles  bruise  and  silence  them — will  sink- 
again  into  sullen,  sodden  hopelessness.  Homelessness  is  the  lot 
of  the  poor  in  our  great  cities. 

Here,  too,  center  the  age-long  struggles  of  the  social  life.    The   The 
battle  line  of  the  conflict  between  employer  and  employed  is  in   strucele* 
our  great  cities.    Here  capital  compacts  itself  and  labor  combines. 
Power  of  organization  depends  upon  ease  of  contact.     Exposure 
promotes   the   quick   contagion   of   ideas.      The   city   asserts   the 
limitations  of  individual  privilege  and  opens  to  the  light  the  subtle 
relations  between  the  man  and  the  community  in  the  control  of 
the  necessities  of  the  social  order.     Here  democracy  is  to  find  its   Democracy  on 
defeat  or  its  triumph.     Its  final  arena  was  not  the  little  states  of  "^^^^ 
Greece,  the  grim,  gray  streets  of  Paris,  or  the  gleaming,  skyward 
cantons  of  Switzerland,  but  it  is  the  complex  life  of  our  American 
cities. 

In  every  form  of  life,  for  childhood,  womanhood,  manhood ; 
for  home,  for  industry,  for  education,  for  religion,  for  social 
order,  for  charity,  for  government,  for  art,  for  commerce,  for 
Life,  the  city,  the  American  city,  has  problems,  more  intense, 
more  far-reaching  than  have  ever  taxed  the  mind  or  tested  the 
heart  of  humanity  in  all  its  progress. 

Thus  "our  city  problem"  states  itself  in  terms  of  extension  and 
intension. 

But  now  we  must  go  further.  Our  problem  is  our  test.  The  Our  Problem 
city  is  a  twentieth-century  fact.  As  a  problem  it  has  escaped  from  "  ^^^  "^^^^ 
the  category  of  the  curious  and  is  found  in  that  of  the  inevitable. 
It  is  still  treated  at  times  as  a  footnote  in  some  chapter  on 
pastoral  theology,  or  as  if  it  were  like  the  question  of  the  fourth 
dimension  of  space — interesting  but  somewhat  distant.  But 
when  we  turn  to  the  practical  world  commerce  has  found  the  city, 
science  and  statesmanship  reckon  with  it,  literature  exploits  it, 
philanthropy  centers  upon  it.  Civilization  has  created  it  and 
civilization  is  now  tested  by  it.  At  the  heart  of  civilization  is 
Christianity.  Can  the  Gospel  or  the  Church  which  gives  it  em- 
bodiment and  expression  escape  the  test?  It  is  forbidden  to-day 
that  a  man  be  a  St.  Simeon  on  his  pillar,  or  a  St.  Anthony  in  his 
cave — with  back  toward  the  world's  problems  and  face  toward  i  ftJiJ 

the  skies.  It  is  not  the  dream  of  escape,  but  the  inspiration  of 
conquest,  which  must  control.  Calvin  in  his  city  and  Savonarola 
in  his — men  whose  conception  of  the  mastership  of  Christ  shows 


iiiO  el 
Maris 


128 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


Ideals 


Is  the  Gospel 
for  the 
Multitude  1 


Has  the 
Church  a 
Social 
Message  1 


Is  Our  Master 
the  Master  of 
Life? 


heroic  and  sublime  even  through  their  intolerance,  their  austerity, 
and  the  narrowness  of  their  methods — reveal  to  us  our  test  and 
our  duty. 

Let  us,  then,  admit  and  assert  that  the  city  which  is  our  problem 
is  also  our  test — ours,  the  test  of  our  Christianity,  the  test  of  our 
Methodism. 

It  puts  upon  trial  our  ideals.  It  forces  us  to  determine 
whether  we  really  conceive  of  the  Gospel  as  a  message  for  all  men 
and  for  all  life.  We  have  been  strong  to  combat  election  and 
reprobation  and  to  assert  free  grace  for  all,  but  have  we  entirely 
escaped  that  subtlest  temptation  of  sainthood,  which  practically 
accepts  the  Gospel  as  God's  gracious  gift  to  us  and  to  a  few — per- 
haps many — akin  to  us,  but  sees  no  salvation  in  this  world  or  the 
next  for  the  multitudes  for  whom  we  think  we  believe  Christ 
died.  Men  and  women  of  every  type  of  character,  familiar  with 
every  phase  of  vice,  warped  by  every  form  of  prejudice,  repre- 
senting every  race  under  the  skies,  pass  our  church  doors  by 
thousands  and  ten  thousands  daily.  They  are  not  half  the  globe 
away,  divided  from  us  by  the  seas.  They  are  here  within  sight 
and  touch.    Do  we  hold  that  the  Gospel  is  meant  for  them? 

The  city  tests  our  ideals  of  the  scope  of  the  Gospel  in  saving 
not  men  but  man.  Have  we  a  social  message  ?  Does  the  kingdom 
of  God  reconstruct  society,  or  does  it  exhaust  itself  in  regenera- 
ting the  individual  ?  Does  the  gleam  of  the  radiant  city  in  the 
heavens  where  those  choice  spirits  who  have  been  rescued  from 
this  wrecked  earth  are  forever  with  the  Lord — a  group  of  pilgrims 
to  constitute  a  new  commonwealth  of  the  skies — alone  hold  our 
vision,  or  do  we  see  a  new  Jerusalem  coming  down  from  above 
and  a  humanity  redeemed,  restored,  glorified,  risen  with  Christ 
and  hid  with  Christ  in  God?  Is  the  Church  the  finality — do 
God's  love  and  care  center  and  remain  in  her — or  is  the  Church 
God's  instrument,  his  channel,  his  expression,  for  the  representa- 
tion of  Christ  to  the  perverted  affection,  the  dim  reason,  the  dull 
conscience  of  men,  until  the  world  seeing  him  as  he  is  shall  become 
a  new  world? 

Do  our  ideals  include  Christ's  mastery  of  life?  Stand  in  some 
great  civic  center  and  look  about  you.  Who  is  master  here? 
Yonder  is  the  noisy  mart  of  commerce.  Here  is  the  quiet  home 
of  literature.  The  law  asserts  itself,  in  legislative  hall  and  from 
judge's  bench.     Industry  is  a  whirl  in  a  thousand  factories,  and 


OUR    CITY    PROBLEM 


129 


the  shipping  from  every  sea  is  yonder  at  the  wharves.  Who  is 
master  here?  Is  the  Saviour  of  men  the  Lord  of  hfe?  Is  He  who 
died  upon  the  cross  ahve  in  the  heart  of  the  world?  The  city 
tests  our  ideals. 

It  tests  our  methods.  We  are  coming  to  understand  that  Methods 
Wesley  himself  left  in  his  pattern  margins  for  growth.  The 
machinery  that  strains  and  creaks  in  these  modern  days  is  not  his 
invention.  Had  he  not  been  wise  enough  to  know  that  progress 
means  change  he  could  not  have  been  powerful  enough  to  win  the 
word  of  the  historian  Lecky,  who  says  that  "Wesley  had  a  wider 
constructive  influence  in  the  sphere  of  practical  religion  than  any 
other  man  who  has  appeared  since  the  sixteenth  century." 
Surely  heredity  is  on  our  side.  We  are  not  here  concerned  to 
discuss  the  variations  of  method  which  the  new  life  of  our  cities 
demands.  The  principle  underlying  those  changes  is  Paul's 
principle  and  Wesley's.  Paul's  statement  of  it  was,  "I  am  made 
all  things  to  all  men,  that  I  may  by  all  means  save  some."  Wesley 
announced  the  same  principle  in  his  deeds ;  having  tamed  to  the 
gentleness  of  Christ  the  Kingswood  miners,  he  straightway  built 
a  house  and  procured  teachers  that  their  destitute  children  might 
be  taught.  Given  the  outstretched  hand  of  need  and  the  out- 
stretched hand  of  help,  the  exalted  task  of  the  Church  is  to  bring 
them  together.  The  great  point  is  the  point  of  contact.  Method 
means  finding  that.  Our  system,  some  say,  is  adapted  to  rural 
districts  and  to  the  small  towns.  The  question  the  city  raises  is, 
Cannot  the  spirit  which  hunts  for  lost  souls  in  the  country  find 
ways  to  seek  them  in  the  crowd?  We  are  evangelists.  May  the 
day  never  come  when  ardent  evangelism  ceases  among  us !  But 
is  evangelism  a  thing  of  meetings,  of  altars,  of  fixed  modes? 
Methodism  cannot  be  driven  from  pavement  to  fields.  Can  it  not, 
aye,  does  it  not  push  itself  into  a  thousand  forms  of  ministry  and 
become  incarnate  in  the  lives  of  men  bringing  into  the  desolation 
the  cheer  of  the  Gospel  and  transforming  even  beneath  the  city's 
pall  the  hearts  of  sinners  into  the  image  of  God? 

Yes,  and  it  tests  our  resources.  This  is  trite.  Our  ears  are  Resources 
accustomed  to  it.  But  think  of  it.  Let  an  example  or  two  suffice. 
Here  are  our  Italians.  They  are  in  all  our  cities.  They  are 
accessible.  They  are,  for  the  most  part,  pitiably  poor.  They  are 
used  to  fine  churches.  To  them  beauty  and  order  are  accompani- 
ments of  worship.  What  do  we  oflfer  them?  Dingy  halls  in 
9 


The  Point  of 
Contact 


I30 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


The 

Downtown 

Church 


obscure  streets.  The  service  is  robbed  of  attraction  and  appeal 
by  our  destitution.  Our  case  is  lost  before  we  plead  by 
our  very  insignificance.  A  few  thousand  dollars  will  cover  all 
that  Methodism  is  doing  in  the  cities  for  the  Italians — nor  are  we 
by  any  means  outstripped  by  the  other  denominations.  Consider 
the  deserted  church — the  downtown  church.  In  the  economics  of 
Providence  it  is  centered  where  the  people  are,  and  its  mission  is 
to  them.  Whatever  the  history  has  been,  the  fact  is  patent  that 
everywhere  throughout  our  cities  are  these  vantage  points.  For 
the  most  part  they  should  be  and  could  be  transformed  into 
glorious  agencies  for  the  salvation  of  men  and  the  redemption  of 
the  community.  Why  rather  do  they  stand  idle,  or  serve  only  as 
monuments  of  the  past?  No  longer  can  it  be  said  that  the  Church 
lacks  courage  and  ideals.  For  throughout  our  cities,  within  a 
score  of  years,  men  have  been  raised  up  who  understand  in  this 
matter  the  mind  of  the  Master.  But  the  test  comes  upon  our  re- 
sources. In  our  own  city  I  can  find  you  six  Methodist  churches, 
which  were  yielding  to  the  desolation  of  migration  and  seemed  to 
have  no  future  but  death  or  removal,  which  are  now  strong  in 
ministry  and  warm  with  the  Gospel  life.  Why?  Because  a  half 
dozen  men  who  were  able  and  were  willing  have  backed  them 
with  fifteen  or  twenty  thousand  dollars  a  year  to  make  them  not 
"mission"  but  "missionary"  churches  in  the  greatest  missionary 
field  of  the  world. 

Other  tests  have  come  to  the  spirit  of  Methodism.  The  need  of 
material  equipment  and  of  consecrated  men  in  those  early  years, 
the  demand  that  her  sons  and  daughters  should  be  educated  in 
her  own  schools  and  colleges,  the  cry  of  the  far  lands  that  the 
Gospel  should  be  sent  even  unto  them,  the  claim  of  a  great 
country.  South  and  West,  for  preachers  and  for  churches,  the 
sudden  appeal  of  an  enslaved  race  awaking  to  find  its  day  of 
freedom  and  peril  dawning — these  have  come  and  the  Church's 
ideals  have  found  room,  her  methods  have  been  adapted,  her  re- 
sources have  been  poured  forth,  and  the  successive  tests  have  been 
met.    The  new  test  is  the  city — from  it  the  Church  will  not  shrink. 

But  test  is  opportunity.  They  are  two  sides  of  the  same  divine 
thought.  The  same  strain  which  tries  the  soul  opens  somewhere 
a  door.  Already  the  test  has  been  seen  upon  its  opportunity  side. 
Vast  changes,  often  unnoted,  are  taking  place  in  the  attitude  and 
organization  of  our  churches  in  the  cities.    They  are  finding  for 


OUR    CITY    PROBLEM  I3I 

themselves  a  new  alignment  and  are  aiming  at  larger  cont:iuests. 
Our  grand  Missionary  Society  has  concentrated  its  gaze  upon 
the  cities,  and  among  the  multitude  of  its  modes  of  service  has 
found  a  definite  place  for  city  evangelization.  The  societies  for 
city  evangelization  have  come  into  harmonious  relations  with  one 
another,  and^  fitted  now  into  the  machinery  of  the  Church,  become 
the  warp  upon  which  to  work  out  the  new  and  larger  design. 
Beneficence,  the  organized  kindness  of  the  Gospel,  builds  its 
strongholds  of  mercy  in  our  cities.  Germany's  only  gifts  to  us 
are  not  population  and  rationalism.  Friedrich  Froebel,  when  he  The 
began  to  teach  the  world  how  to  teach  its  children,  did  not  foresee  J"°Jgg*''°^ 
what  now  we  know — that  the  kindergarten  is  to  be  a  force  for 
purity  and  for  righteousness  acting  upon  the  plastic  material  of 
childhood  in  every  great  city  of  the  land.  Theodore  Fliedner, 
with  his  humble  school  of  service  at  Kaiserswerth,  did  not  per- 
ceive that,  in  reviving  the  order  of  deaconesses  and  organizing 
Christian  womanhood  for  service,  he  was  blessing  not  Germany 
alone,  but  the  world.  Here  are  two  names  that  the  city's  child- 
hood and  poverty  will  never  let  die.  Froebel  and  Fliedner 
planned  and  sacrificed  and  prayed  for  the  American  city  of  the 
twentieth  century.  Here  are  the  Settlement — the  Settlement  with 
Christ  in  it — the  Rescue  Mission,  erratic  and  potent,  yet  to  be 
adjusted  to  the  greater  movements ;  the  popularization  of  knowl- 
edge by  free  lecture  and  educational  classes ;  the  organization  of 
charity ;  the  community  control  of  the  common  necessities  of  all ; 
the  scientific  study  of  the  causes  and  conditions  of  poverty  and 
crime ;  the  new  political  economy  which  centers  in  the  rights 
and  privileges  of  the  man  and  holds  that  whether  trade  shall  be 
free  may  be  a  debatable  question,  but  that  whether  man  must  be 
free  admits  of  no  discussion.  Weigh  the  meaning  of  the  training 
schools  for  Christian  workers  in  our  cities.  Observe  the  move-  Signs  of 
ment  of  conviction  in  our  colleges  and  seminaries.  Chairs  of  ^  ^ 
sociology  and  applied  Christianity  are  of  recent  date,  and  from 
them  now  students  are  sent  into  our  great  cities  to  study  the  world 
to  which  they  are  some  day  to  preach.  It  is  at  last  seen  that  the 
training  for  the  ministry  involves  not  only  theology  that  men  may 
know  about  God,  and  anthropology  that  they  may  know  about 
man,  but  sociology  that  they  may  know  about  men.  The  change 
in  industrial  conditions  has  brought  the  country  to  the  town.  The 
frontiers  are  now^  streets,  not  acres.     The  reflex  action  of  civic 


132 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


The  Beflez 
Action  of 
Civic  upon 
Sural  and 
Foreign  Life 


The  Spirit  of 
the  Times 


upon  rural  life  was  never  what  it  is  to-day.  The  city  is  America's 
central  home  mission  field.  Nor  is  the  reflex  action  true  only  of 
the  home  land.  The  testimony  comes  from  Germany,  from  Scan- 
dinavia, from  Italy,  from  China,  from  Japan,  that  the  evangeliza- 
tion here  of  those  whom  we  call  foreigners  means  the  radiation 
of  a  mighty  influence  throughout  lands  we  shall  never  see.  Who 
in  this  Convention  can  forget  that  our  great  work  in  Germany 
began  in  the  city  mission  field  of  Cincinnati ;  that  under  Nast  and 
Miller,  Jacoby  and  Schmucker  it  spread  to  the  cities  of  the  middle 
West  and  then  by  a  reflex  movement  created  the  Methodism  of 
the  Fatherland?  Who,  remembering  Sweden  and  Norway,  can 
forget  Pastor  Hedstrom,  the  seaman's  missionary  of  New  York, 
or  Petersen  as  he  takes  ship  from  the  same  port,  "to  raise  up,"  as 
Bishop  Waugh  told  him,  "a  people  for  God  in  Norway."  Out  of 
the  heart  of  the  city,  at  a  great  meeting  in  the  old  Mulberry  Street 
Church,  the  impulse  sprang  which  created  our  Mission  in  China, 
and  to-day,  though  our  work  is  in  other  provinces  of  the  wonder- 
ful old  empire,  the  interaction  between  Chinese  work  in  San 
Francisco  and  the  Atlantic  coast  cities  and  that  in  Canton  is  con- 
stant. To  our  cities  have  come  the  peasants  of  Italy:  they  go 
back  with  the  Bible  in  their  hands  and  a  new  allegiance  in  their 
hearts.  From  Japan  the  select  few,  clever  and  alert,  gather  in  our 
parlor  churches  and  Christian  Homes  and  reflect  back  to  the  island 
home  the  truths  of  the  Gospel.  The  first  book  published  by  that 
Pauline  evangelist,  William  Taylor,  was  Street  Preaching  in  San 
Francisco.  Those  who  get  near  the  heart  of  the  foreign  popula- 
tion in  our  cities  believe  not  only  that  these  people  can  be  reached 
by  the  Gospel,  but  that  through  their  redeemed  lives  God  is  build- 
ing a  highway  to  the  lands  from  which  they  come. 

But  the  crisis  of  a  great  opportunity  is  shown  less  by  these  con- 
crete forces  among  which  the  Church  should  retain  its  divinely 
ordained  leadership  than  by  the  spirit  that  is  abroad  in  human 
society — the  Zeitgeist.  The  call  to  service  echoes  about  the  world. 
Creeds  differ  and  will  continue  to  differ.  The  hope  of  Christian 
unity  is  not  in  the  realm  of  the  intellect,  in  the  high  altitudes  of 
philosophy  and  theology,  but  in  the  realm  of  the  heart,  upon  the 
broad  plains  of  human  service.  Words  which,  shouted  from  peak 
to  peak,  awaken  only  confused  echoes,  spoken  in  whispers  in  the 
common  ways  of  weary  men  find  the  soul  and  reveal  us  brothers 
of  the  common  life  in  loving  obedience  to  Him  who  rules  us  all, 


OUR    CITY    PROBLEM  133 

because  he  is  the  Son  of  Man.  Evervwlierc  humanity  is  expect- 
ant. What  has  been  felt  to  be  a  growing  indifference  to  rehgious 
life,  certainly  to  ecclesiastical  forms,  is  rather  a  stronger  em- 
phasis upon  the  essentials  of  the  faith,  and  a  wider  diffusion  of 
the  ethical  principles  of  the  Gospel.  The  swing  of  the  world's 
thought  is  again  toward  the  Man  of  Nazareth.  The  instinct  of 
humanity  declares  that  help  is  laid  upon  One  that  is  mighty — 
mighty  to  save.  To  this  waiting  world  the  Church  must  come 
with  the  larger  conception  of  Christ,  to  teach  in  the  cities — in  the 
homes,  in  the  market  place,  in  forum,  in  hall  of  learning,  in  the 
lanes  and  streets — that  the  kingdom  of  God  is  among  us,  that  the 
living  Jesus  is  here.  Our  problem  is  our  test — our  test  is  our  op- 
portunity. 

But  opportunity  is  only  Duty  "zvrit  large."  "It  is  a  vain  thing  Opportunity 
to  go  back  upon  human  progress.  The  industrial  revolution  which  *°  ^  ^ 
has  made  our  great  cities,  and  which  through  them  supplies  the 
needs  of  mankind,  is  part  of  God's  providence ;  and  what  we  have 
to  do,  the  real  task  of  our  generation,  is  to  face  the  problems 
which  the  city  life  presents,  applying  to  them  the  light  which  the 
Bible  gives  us  and  determining  that,  so  far  as  in  us  lies,  and  by 
the  power  of  God  and  of  Christ,  London  and  New  York  shall  not 
be  as  Babylon,  but  as  the  New  Jerusalem"  (Fremantle). 

The  gates  are  open,  we  must  enter.  The  Master  who  wept  over  The  City  Calls 
a  city  calls:  we  dare  not  slight  his  tears.  Let  Methodism  not  to  Methodism 
falter.  We  have  a  theology  that  works,  without  apology  or  re- 
vision. We  know  the  language  of  the  common  folk.  We  have  the 
friendship  of  the  foreigners,  for  our  missionaries  with  schools 
and  hospitals  and  preaching  are  in  their  lands.  We  have  numbers. 
The  prestige  of  a  great  movement  embodying  itself  in  a  great 
organization  with  success  the  world  over  cannot  be  ignored.  Ours 
is  a  flexible  system.  We  have  wealth.  Soon  men  will  endow  the 
mission  work  in  the  cities  as  they  have  for  the  past  twenty-five 
years  been  endowing  colleges.  We  have  leaders.  What  one  of 
the  bishops  of  our  Church  has  not  pleaded  for  the  cities?  There 
is  not  a  general  secretary  in  the  field  by  whom  this  crisis  is  not 
felt.  Every  editor  in  the  Church  is  convinced  and  ardent.  No 
college  president  among  us  is  not  alive  to  the  city's  influence  and 
the  city's  need.  Laymen  of  force  and  resources  consecrate  them- 
selves to  the  betterment  of  our  cities.  The  city  is  upon  the 
Church's  conscience.    Let  us  not  hesitate.    Let  us  not  wait. 


134  THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 

Methodism  This  Methodism  of  ours  more  than  any  other  denomination 

and  Progress  j^^g  ^^^  ^j.  hgart  the  welfare  of  the  common  people.  She  rescued 
from  deism  and  atheism  that  Anglo-Saxon  life  which  to-day  is 
the  great  conquering  force  in  civilization.  She  has  had  a  career 
of  unparalleled  progress  and  has  become  the  greatest  Protestant 
factor  in  the  world's  supreme  republic,  and  has  penetrated  into 
the  secret  needs  of  both  the  old  states  of  Europe  and  the  decadent 
religions  of  the  Orient.  Shall  she  now  neglect  the  supreme  oppor- 
tunity of  the  Christian  centuries?  Is  my  language  too  strong? 
One  of  our  bishops  has  said — a  chevalier  of  missions — "The 
greatest  cause  in  the  world  is  missions,  and  the  greatest  depart- 
ment of  missions  is  city  evangelization." 
Chalmers  and  There  is  no  chapter  in  ecclesiastical  history  more  significant 
Carlyle  ^1^^^^  ^j^^^  which  records  Thomas  Chalmers's  discovery  of  the  city. 

It  is  the  classic  of  modern  city  evangelization.  Said  Carlyle  of 
him :  "What  a  wonderful  old  man  Chalmers  is !  or,  rather,  he  has 
all  the  buoyancy  of  youth.  When  so  many  of  us  are  wringing  our 
hands  in  hopeless  despair  over  the  vileness  and  wretchedness  of 
the  large  towns  there  goes  the  old  man,  shovel  in  hand,  down  into 
the  dirtiest  puddles  of  the  worst  part  of  Edinburgh,  clears  them 
out  and  fills  the  sewers  with  living  water.  It  is  a  beautiful  sight !" 
"The  wonderful  old  man"  had  the  city,  not  only  on  his  heart,  but 
on  his  conscience.  Oliver  Cromwell  once,  confronting  a  great 
problem,  said  that  he  knew  that  it  could  not  be  solved  without 
religion.  "I  raised  such  men,"  said  he,  "as  had  the  fear  of  God 
upon  them ;  as  made  some  conscience  of  what  they  did,  and  from 
that  day  forward,  I  must  say  to  you,  they  were  never  beaten  and 
whenever  they  were  engaged  against  the  enemy  they  beat  con- 
tinually." 

The  city  is  our  problem,  our  test,  our  opportunity,  our  obliga- 
tion. Let  us  be  "men  who  make  some  conscience  of  what  we  do," 
and  with  duty  done  our  problem  will  be  solved.  We  shall  never 
be  beaten ! 


HAWAII    AND   THE    PHILIPPINES  135 

THE   OPEN    DOOR   IN    HAWAII   AND   THE 
PHILIPPINES 

The  Rev.   H.   C.   Stuntz,  D.D. 

Of  the  Hawaiian  Islands  I  know  but  little,  except  what  I  saw 
during  two  brief  pauses  in  a  journey  toward  the  Philippines  and 
on  my  return.  Our  open  doors  there  are  chiefly  among  the 
Japanese  laborers,  imported  for  work  upon  the  sugar  plantations. 
We  have  opportunities  also  among  our  own  American  people 
there,  and  America  cannot  afford  to  neglect  them. 

It  is  impossible  to  get  anything  like  an  adequate  conception  of 
our  relation  to  the  Philippine  Islands  as  a  nation  and  as  a  Church 
without  a  little  preliminary  attempt  at  least  to  reckon  with  the 
world  forces  which  have  thrust  us  in  there. 

God  has  swung  this  great  nation  out  on  the  highway  of  the  On  the 
seas  between  the  two  great  continents  upon  which  live  the  some-  the^g^g^  ° 
thing  like  one  thousand  millions  of  our  fellow-beings  who  are  yet 
unevangelized.  It  is  not  thinkable  to  a  devout  student  of  the 
progress  of  God's  redemptive  purposes  in  the  earth  that  he  should 
have  so  located  a  great  nation  such  as  we  are  without  having  in 
view  the  ultimate  use  of  this  nation  in  bringing  these  vast  popu- 
lations— Africa  to  our  east,  and  Asia  to  our  west,  and  the  semi- 
civilized  to  the  south  of  us — to  a  knowledge  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ.  The  Captain  of  our  salvation  is  not  so  poor  a  tactician 
as  to  choose  a  location  like  ours  without  an  ultimate  purpose, 
particularly  when  one  considers  the  class  of  people  that  he  has 
brought  up  here  in  this  choicest  portion  of  the  western  continent. 
We  are  not  unduly  boastful  when  we  say  of  ourselves  that  we  are 
the  consummate  product,  in  physical,  mental,  and  ethical  breeding, 
of  the  six  or  eight  best  races  that  Europe  has  ever  bred.  We  are 
the  result  of  racial  cross-fertilization.  I  would  very  greatly  dis- 
like to  attempt  the  task  of  disentangling  the  pedigree  of  any 
individual  in  this  congregation.  I  would  find  English,  Irish, 
Dutch,  and  Danish — everything  practically  is  represented  here.  A  Racial 
We  have  the  wit  of  the  Irishman,  we  have  the  steady  qualities  of  '^^^  omera  e 
the  German,  the  administrative  abilities  of  the  Englishman,  the 
canniness  of  the  Scotchman — we  have  all  that  is  best  and  highest 
that  has  been  developed  under  the  teaching  of  an  open  Bible  and 
f»f  free  speech  anywhere  on  the  face  of  God's  earth.    And  the  man 


136 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


People  with 
a  Destiny 


The 

Transformed 

Pacific 


The  Russian 
Menace 


who  does  not  appreciate  that  fact  has  always  Hved  at  home  and 
has  never  hved  among  the  degraded  nations  of  the  earth,  who 
are  inbred  through  countless  generations. 

If  there  is  anything  that  can  be  affirmed  with  regard  to  this 
American  people,  it  is  that  we  have  just  begun  to  come  to  our 
magnificent  kingdom  as  a  people  in  the  earth.  We  are  sprung  up 
here  with  a  destiny,  with  a  future.  We  are  the  only  modern 
nation  with  a  seacoast  fronting  Asia,  and  Asia  holds  seven  hun- 
dred and  fifty  millions  who  are  still  to  be  brought  under  the 
scepter  of  Jesus  Christ  the  King. 

God  works  for  the  establishment  of  righteousness  in  the  earth 
through  three  great  agencies :  the  home,  of  which  no  one  can 
speak  with  sufficient  emphasis  as  a  strategic  center  for  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  cause  of  Christ — the  home,  the  Church,  and  the 
State,  all  divine  institutions  planted  on  the  earth  for  the  further- 
ance of  this  kingdom  of  righteousness.  Now,  while  this  nation 
was  being  bred  through  something  like  four  centuries  we  have 
looked  out  upon  the  Pacific  Ocean  and  have  seen  the  marvelous 
things  being  done  there.  Within  the  last  one  hundred  and  fifty 
years  the  island  continent  of  Australia  has  passed  under  the  sway 
of  the  mightiest  Protestant  nation  on  the  earth,  and  within  the 
last  two  hundred  years  India  has  come  under  the  same  scepter, 
as  well  as  South  Africa  and  New  Zealand.  Now  we  have  step- 
ping-stones in  the  Pacific :  Hawaii,  Guam,  a  part  of  Samoa,  and 
the  flag  of  a  Protestant  people  floats  from  Mexico  to  the  frozen 
north.  And  the  man  is  blind  who  does  riot  see  the  ultimate  sig- 
nificance of  handing  over  the  key  positions  in  the  Pacific  to  such 
a  people  as  God  has  raised  us  up  to  be. 

While  that  was  coming  to  pass  a  great  menace  was  creeping 
southward  and  eastward  in  Asia,  so  that  those  that  lived  under 
the  shadow  of  it  trembled  in  their  hearts  in  their  moments  of 
doubt.  Russia,  pushing  southward,  eastward,  trying  to  get  into 
India,  was  fenced  out  of  India  by  the  brilliant  frontier  defense 
policy  of  Lord  Dufferin.  The  Russian  bear  smelled  along  that 
fence,  gave  it  up,  and  built  the  trans-Siberian  railway  that  he 
might  slice  off  of  eastern  Asia  what  he  had  failed  to  gain  in  w^est- 
ern  Asia.  She  was  reaching  eastward,  and  at  the  close  of  the 
Japanese  and  Chinese  war,  when  the  mouse  had  whipped  the  ele- 
phant, and  it  looked  as  though  all  the  diplomatic  policies  had  been 
knocked  into  pi,  Russia  seized  Manchuria,  overawed  Korea,  and 


HAWAII    AND   THE    PHILIPPINES 


137 


was  proceeding  with  a  definite  policy  of  Russianizing  Japan,  when 
suddenly  a  wonderful  thing  happened.  An  American  admiral 
on  the  Eastern  station  received  a  cable  message  from  Washington, 
remarkable  for  its  definiteness  and  brevity,  a  fine  example  of 
telegraphic  condensation :  "You  will  proceed  to  the  Philippine 
Islands,  locate  and  destroy  the  Spanish  fleet."  In  seven  days' 
time  that  typical  American  had  bought  two  new  ships,  had 
stripped  his  ships  to  fighting  form,  had  steamed  seven  hundred 
miles,  had  sunk  a  fleet,  and  run  the  flag  of  this  nation  up  in  the 
face  of  the  Russian  menace.  And  for  the  second  time  the  speak- 
ing voice  of  an  American  fleet  had  added  an  archipelago  to  the 
possible  conquests  of  King  Jesus  in  the  Pacific  Ocean. 

The  significant  thing  is  this,  that  since  our  flag  was  raised  over 
that  archipelago  Russia  has  stopped  her  aggressions  in  southern 
Asia.  If  she  had  gone  on  with  them  the  civilization  and  Chris- 
tianization  of  southeastern  Asia  would  have  been  deferred  for  hun- 
dreds of  years.  She  would  have  frozen  the  very  fountains  of  the 
economic,  social,  and  religious  development  of  a  vast  people.  This 
nation,  thrust  in  there  like  that,  broke  the  power  of  Spain  "like 
a  potter's  vessel,"  and  had  not  a  scar  left  on  the  "rod  of  iron" 
with  which  she  did  it,  either.  You  have  heard  broadcast  over 
this  land  stories  about  the  drunkenness  and  the  cruelty  of  our 
American  soldiers.  They  are  not  all  true,  but  some  of  them  are, 
and  more  are  true  than  you  know  about.  I  have  heard  things 
that  I  am  not  going  to  tell  you.  But  the  same  army  that  drank 
too  much  of  the  beer  that  made  Milwaukee  infamous,  the  same 
army  that  has  practiced  more  or  less  cruelty  here  and  there  against 
a  treacherous  enemy,  that  same  army  has  brought  to  an  end  an 
intolerable  condition  among  over  ten  million  people,  and  has  set 
them  free  to  be  a  state  among  the  nations  of  the  earth.  That  is  a 
great  fact  that  will  go  into  history,  though  there  have  been  flaws 
and  faults  in  the  instrument  that  did  the  work.  I  have  no 
apology  to  ofifer  for  the  cruelties  ;  we  ought  not  to  have  committed 
them.  Somebody  asked  me  one  day  why  there  had  been  so  many. 
I  simply  said  it  was  because  the  American  nation  in  carrying  out 
a  great  policy  could  not  get  any  better  instrumentality  than  men, 
and  they  were  not  all  of  them  entirely  sanctified — no  more  than 
Dr.  Cartwright  was.  That  is  the  trouble.  If  we  could  have 
secured  a  type  of  man  of  the  high  ethical  development  of  our 
chairman  to-day   and   of  the   men   on  this   platform   we   would 


Mission  of  the 

American 

Soldier 


138  THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 

have  had  no  cruelties.     But  we  had  to  take  men,  just  ordinary 
men. 
An  Era  of  Let  me  mention  three  or  four  things  that  this  mighty  nation 

Justice  j^^g  begun  to  do  in  the  PhiHppine  Islands,  as  a  great  agency  of  the 

kingdom  of  God  in  estabhshing  righteousness  in  the  earth.  We 
have  given  the  people  the  germ  of  free  government.  We  have 
established  courts  which  from  one  end  of  the  archipelago  to  the 
other  are  grinding  out  justice.  A  criminal  was  arrested.  He 
offered  the  policeman  a  bribe  of  five  thousand  dollars  to  let  him 
go.  The  policeman  reached  for  the  indictment  and  entered  upon 
it,  "For  offering  a  bribe  to  an  officer  in  the  performance  of  duty, 
charge  number  two."  He  came  up  before  an  American  judge, 
and  had  conveyed  a  bribe  to  that  man,  and  another  count  was 
added  to  the  indictment.  When  he  received  his  sentence  he  got 
twenty-five  years !  That  is  what  I  mean  by  the  government  es- 
tabhshing righteousness.  That  man  upon  the  bench  in  that  great 
circuit  in  North  Luzon  is  a  minister  of  God  there  as  much  as  I 
am  when  trying  to  preach  salvation  by  faith.  I  say  this  on  the 
authority  of  St.  Paul. 
A  Shipload  of  \Ye  ^^ve  given  these  people  a  new  police  force.  We  have  given 
them  new  schools.  I  saw  five  hundred  and  forty-two  American 
school-teachers  walk  down  the  gangplank  off  one  ship.  We  have 
exported  steel  rails,  cotton  yarn,  and  all  sorts  of  things,  but  we 
never  exported  school-teachers  by  the  shipload  before.  I  pulled 
twenty-eight  Methodist  Church  letters  out  of  that  crowd  the  first 
day,  and  half  a  dozen  good  Presbyterians  and  Episcopalians,  and 
all  sorts  of  people  said,  "Brother,  we  have  come  to  help."  When 
you  think  of  the  old  friar,  with  his  immorality,  his  intolerance, 
his  Caesarism,  and  think  of  him  as  the  only  school-teacher  they 
had  ever  had,  and  contrast  him  with  the  teachers  we  have  sent 
there,  it  ought  to  fill  your  heart  with  very  gladness  to  think  they 
are  there  from  one  end  of  the  archipelago  to  the  other. 

Vulgar  fhe  day  has  dawned  when  the  language  that  takes  the  earth  is 

Tractions  .  . 

taught  in  all  the  schools  of  the  Philippine  Islands,  and -English 

becomes  the  official  language  of  the  Philippine  Islands  on  the  first 
day  of  January,  1907,  by  the  grace  of  God.  Some  one  has  said 
to  me,  "Why  isn't  it  possible  for  us  to  have  immediately  a  great 
Filipino  total  there?"  I  said,  "Because  they  are  simply  split  up 
into  thirty-four  vulgar  fractions,  and  the  only  way  to  add  frac- 
tions is  to  reduce  them  to  a  common  denominator."     And  you 


Cooperating 


HAWAII    AND   THE    PHILIPPINES  139 

never  can  add  the  vulgar  fractions  of  the  Filipino  total  into 
one  great  unit  until  you  reduce  them  to  a  common  linguistic 
denominator,  and  that  policy  is  entered  upon  aggressively,  even 
prodigally. 

You  will  agree  with  me  that  the  powers  that  be  are  ordained 
of  God,  and  I  believe  that  God  has  a  mighty  mission  for  America 
in  carrying  peace  and  justice  and  good  sanitation  and  everything 
else  to  the  people  who  have  been  fettered  in  bondage  there  ever 
since  Spain  found  them  three  hundred  years  ago.  And  I  pray 
God  that  the  citizens  of  this  country  may  carefully  and  prayer- 
fully exercise  their  duty  toward  that  vast  archipelago.  If  you 
ever  allow  the  unspeakable  infamy  of  the  army  canteen  to  be  put 
on  the  army  again  you  ought  never  to  have  forgiveness  in  this 
world,  nor  in  the  world  to  come. 

The  Church  finds  her  open  door  in  the  Philippine  Islands  in  Church  and 
three  or  four  directions.  First,  to  speak  generally,  the  oppor-  c*^^®^, 
tunity  is  before  us  as  a  Church  to  cooperate  with  the  State  in 
shedding  the  light  of  a  Christian  civilization  over  all  of  insular 
and  continental  Asia  in  the  southeast.  We  are  within  two  days' 
steam  of  China,  within  five  days"  steam  of  Japan,  and  the  same 
from  Korea.  I  can  take  ship  Tuesday  morning  on  the  Pasig 
River,  in  Manila,  and  in  three  days  sit  down  to  a  cannibal  feast 
in  South  Borneo — which,  by  the  way,  I  have  never  done.  We  are 
within  easy  access  to  over  seven  hundred  millions  of  the  most 
degraded  and  at  the  same  time,  many  of  them,  the  most  promising 
people  that  are  still  unreached  by  the  Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ. 

My  heart  was  thrilled  one  day  last  summer.  I  was  walking  a  New  Flag 
down  the  streets  of  Manila,  when  I  saw  several  natives  of  India 
approaching.  I  knew  by  their  attire  where  they  were  from.  After 
I  had  seen  them  inquiring  their  way,  I  said  to  one  of  them  in  his 
own  language,  "What  did  you  come  here  for?"  And  he  replied, 
"Sir,  in  our  land  we  heard  that  there  was  a  new  flag  flying  here 
under  heaven  back  and  forth,  and  we  have  come  here  to  work  and 
to  live  under  it."  Those  people  had  come  five  thousand  miles, 
roughly  speaking.  They  are  talking  to-day  in  the  little  villages 
in  the  heart  of  India  that  there  is  a  new  factor  in  the  equation  of 
Asiatic  life.  The  Church  is  to  help  the  nation  to  put  a  new 
religious  and  civil  leaven  into  all  those  vast  masses  of  national 
meal  that  are  about  us  in  those  eastern  fields. 

The  Church  finds  its  next  great  chance  in  the  readiness  of  the 


140  THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 

Filipinos  as  raw  material  which  we  find  at  hand.  The  FiHpinos  are  a  very 
Raw  Material  jjfYerent  people  from  what  many  of  us  suppose  them  to  be. 
While  the  contention  of  some  that  they  are  a  child  race  may  be  in 
some  degree  justified,  yet  they  have  had  four  hundred  years  of 
European  civilization,  such  as  it  is,  and  they  are  the  only  people 
in  the  Orient  that  ever  had  it.  The  flag  of  Spain  and  the  cross  of 
Christ  were  known  in  the  Philippine  Islands  two  hundred  years 
before  Australia  was  opened  to  civilization.  While  Spain  and 
thre  Catholic  Church  had  given  them  a  low  type  of  Christianity, 
yet  the  lowest  type  of  Catholicism  is  better  than  the  highest  type 
of  paganism.  Even  the  few  rays  that  shine  from  the  veiled  face 
of  a  Catholic  Christ  gives  more  illumination  to  the  darkened 
hearts  of  men  than  the  brightest  rays  from  the  face  of  Buddha  or 
Mohammed.  I  never  forget  what  Browning  says,  how  splendidly 
he  phrases  it — you  know  he  makes  the  old  pope  say : 

"  For  somehow 
No  one  ever  yet  plucked  a  rag  even 
From  the  body  of  the  Lord,  to  wear  and  mock  with. 
But  he  looked  the  greater  and  he  was  the  better." 

So  the  poor  little  fragments  they  have  gotten  of  Christ  are 
better  than  anything  the  peoples  have  ever  gotten  north  and  west 
of  them  from  the  teachings  of  those  other  faiths.  The  nuns  have 
worn  through  all  this  tract  of  years  the  white  flower  of  a  blame- 
less life.  They  have  taught  the  w^omanhood  however  much  of 
error,  but  they  have  lived  before  them  unblamably.  When  a 
hundred  years  ago  the  friars  had  lapsed  into  such  immorality  that 
the  nuns  could  no  longer  live  in  the  convents  without  insult  the 
nuns  withdrew  from  the  convents  and  built  their  own  places,  and 
have  lived  their  own  lives  clean  from  the  pollution  around  them. 
He  would  be  a  sorry  bigot  who  would  deny  the  honest  efifort  of 
these  women  to  do  the  Filipino  people  good. 
Eagerness  to  In  the  second  place,  we  find  among  them  a  marvelous  eagerness 
to  hear  and  a  strange  readiness  to  accept  the  Protestant  message. 
The  like  of  it  has  not  been  seen  in  any  Roman  Catholic  country. 
We  find  a  people  out  of  whose  minds  has  been  cleansed  the  poly- 
theistic notion,  with  its  pantheistic  base.  They  are  a  monotheistic 
people,  ready  to  believe  in  one  holy  God,  with  a  redemptive  pur- 
pose in  Jesus  Christ. 

There  are  seated  on  the  platform  two  of  the  men  who  have  had 


Hear 


HAWAII    AND   THE    PHILIPPINES  I4I 

* 

to  do  with  sending  Methodism  there.  Bisliop  McCabe,  in  his 
usual  happy  fashion,  and  really  with  the  eye  of  a  statesman,  sent 
there  the  first  missionary,  however  irregularly  it  may  have  been 
done,  according  to  "the  little  black  book."  But  Bishop  James  Bishop 
M.  Thoburn,  the  St.  Paul  of  Methodism,  was  the  man  who  was  ^g  °  prophet 
ordered  to  go  on  behalf  of  the  society  and  prospect  the  field  and 
open  the  work.  Our  attention  was  called  by  him  to  the  Philip- 
pines thirteen  years  ago.  There  was  an  article  in  the  Methodist 
Rcz'iezv  in  which  he  called  attention  to  that  country  as  a  field  for 
Methodism.  He  said  to  me  once  and  to  others  that  sat  around, 
''God  is  going  to  thrust  us  out  into  Asia  to  do  a  mighty  work  in 
Borneo,  and  God  will  some  time  open  our  way  into  the  Philip- 
pines, so  suddenly  that  the  world  will  hold  its  breath."  That 
was  more  than  six  years  before  Dewey  made  that  large  and  sub- 
stantial contribution  to  the  growing  submarine  navy  of  Spain. 
It  was  very  fitting  that  the  bishop  should  go  there  officially  for 
the  society.  He  preached  his  first  sermon  in  March,  1899.  He 
came  back  to  America.  While  he  was  gone  a  young  man  returned 
to  Manila  who  had  been  in  banishment  for  a  number  of  years  for 
the  crime  of  owning  a  Bible,  for  section  228  of  the  old  penal 
code  made  it  a  crime  to  own  a  Bible !  He  had  been  seven  years 
in  banishment.  He  crept  back  to  the  city  timidly.  He  heard  one 
of  our  preachers  on  the  street.  It  charmed  him.  He  said,  "That 
is  what  I  believe,  that  is  what  I  found  in  the  book,  that  Jesus  can 
save  me  directly,  so  that  I  will  know."  He  went  up  and  made 
himself  known.  A  few  Sundays  afterward  the  preacher  for  the 
meeting  did  not  come,  and  this  man,  Nicholas  Zamora,  was  asked  Nicholas 
to  tell  what  he  had  found  in  the  book.  The  Spirit  of  God  fell 
upon  him  and  upon  all  that  heard  him  that  day.  He  preached  on 
and  on  and  on,  glad  that  in  his  own  city  he  could  take  that  iden- 
tical copy  of  the  word  of  God  for  the  owning  of  which  he  had 
been  hunted  like  a  criminal  from  the  city,  and  cry  in  the  ears  of 
his  own  people  that  the  Jesus  it  teaches  can  save  unto  the  utter- 
most everyone  that  cometh  unto  God  by  him.  I  wonder  that  he 
quit.  It  is  so  hard  to  quit  when  you  have  an  eager  audience  and 
a  weighty  mission.  When  Bishop  Thoburn  went  back  there  he 
looked  him  over,  went  to  the  cable  office,  and  sent  a  cablegram 
to  our  Dr.  Leonard  asking  that  Nicholas  Zamora  be  elected  to  A  Cable 
deacon's  orders  and  transferred  to  the  Malaysia  Conference  for  Transfer 
•ordination.    They  transferred  him,  and  Bishop  Thoburn  ordained 


142  THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 

him.  He  has  been  preaching  ever  since  with  power,  to  ever- 
increasing  audiences,  able  to  hold  vast  audiences  by  the  hour.  He 
is  a  cultivated  man,  a  fine  Latin  scholar — at  least  he  knows  more 
about  Latin  than  I  do ;  he  can  quote  whole  blocks  from  Cicero 
and  Sallust.  He  had  not  been  preaching  more  than  a  month  until 
a  young  sacristan  in  the  Catholic  cathedral  heard  him  and  was 
stricken  to  the  heart,  and  he  bought  a  Bible  furnished  by  the 
American  Bible  Society.  If  I  could  not  be  a  missionary  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  I  would  like  to  be  an  agent  of  the 
Bible  Society.  He  bought  a  Bible,  went  home  and  prayed,  and 
finally  one  night  he  arose  and  went  into  a  little  room,  clasped  his 
hands  around  the  bamboo  slats  that  made  the  floor,  and  said,  "I 
will  lie  here.  Lord,  until  I  have  been  made  a  child  of  God."  In  a 
few  minutes  he  arose,  happy  in  the  Lord,  and  that  young  man  has 
resigned  a  government  position  and  has  gone  to  preaching — 
resigned  a  government  position  that  paid  him  forty  dollars  a 
month  for  a  position  in  the  Church  that  paid  him  only  fifteen  dol- 
lars. Just  before  I  left  we  baptized  eighty-seven  adult  converts 
that  that  man  had  led  to  Jesus  Christ  in  three  months'  time. 
Multitudes  of  And  then  the  eagerness  of  the  people  !  We  had  twelve  thousand 
average  attendance  weekly  in  our  forty-five  services  in  Manila  and 
suburbs  during  the  last  three  months  of  last  year.  I  have  a  letter 
in  my  pocket  that  tells  of  a  young  missionary  that  went  from 
Ohio  Wesleyan,  who  wrote  me  at  the  end  of  three  months,  "We 
are  doing  nothing  but  study  the  language,  but  one  hundred  and 
fifty-one  people  have  been  received  into  the  Church,  and  we  have 
built  a  chapel."  I  would  like  to  know  what  that  man  is  going  to 
do  when  he  gets  the  language  and  goes  to  work.  I  never  saw 
such  readiness  to  hear.  I  have  gone  into  the  provinces  on  the 
invitation  of  the  people  of  the  city  and  preached  for  two  or  three 
hours  to  as  high  as  two  thousand  or  twenty-five  hundred  people, 
who  would  come  in  the  morning  and  stay  until  noon.  Bishop 
Warne  was  in  one  town  sixty-one  hours,  and  during  that  time 
organized  a  Methodist  church  with  sixty  members,  bought  a  lot. 
and  had  half  the  money  raised  to  build  a  church.  The  gravity  of 
the  situation  breaks  me  down  as  I  face  those  multitudes.  The 
thing  that  was  done  in  that  town  could  be  done  in  a  hundred 
other  towns  and  cities.  The  nation  must  awake  before  Rome 
re-forms  her  lines.  There  is  much  loose  talk  about  the  withdrawal 
of  the  friars ;   they  have  been  withdrawn  for  six  years  from  all 


Hearers 


HAWAII    AND   THE    PTIILIPPTNES 


143 


active  participation  in  tlie  work  of  the  Church  of  Rome  in  the 

islands,  outside  of  the  walled  city  of  Manila,  and,  bless  God,  they 

will  never  go  back.     But  while  the  people  are  destitute  of  that 

leadership  is  our  opportunity,  in  the  name  of  our  King,  to  set  up 

our  banners  and  get  our  hearing.     God  help  us  to  be  stirred  to 

the  depths  of  us  to  pour  out  the  money  and  send  out  the  men ! 

The  readiness  of  these  people  to  hear  arises  very  largely  from  The  Friars 

the  awful  immorality  of  many  of  the  Spanish  friars,  because  of 

their  overweaning  severity,  and  because  of  their  greed.     I  don't 

like  to  rake  over  that  filth-heap.     It  is  history,  but  it  will  never 

be  repeated,  excepted  to  say  that  I  was  conversant  with  a  great 

number  of  children  of  friars.    I  was  introduced  in  one  afternoon 

to  the  six  children  of  a  friar,  only  two  of  whom  were  born  of  the 

same  mother.     Daughters  have  been  wrenched  from  the  family 

home,  husbands  sent  into  banishment,  and  yet  there  are  people 

saying  in  this  country  that  that  is  all  talk.    I  wish  it  were  all  talk. 

But  because  the  friars  have  alienated  them  these  people  come  more 

readily  to  us.     They  have  a  wonderful   readiness  to  read  our 

literature.     I  found  a  man  last  summer  reading  aloud  to  fifty 

men  a  translation  of  an  advertisement  of  Hood's  Sarsaparilla ! 

From  five  to  ten  per  cent  of  them  can  read  Spanish ;    twenty  to 

thirty  per  cent  can  read  their  own  vernacular.     But  in  all  their 

homes  they  have  absolutely  no  reading  matter,  and  they  are  as 

thirsty  as  a  gravel  pit.    O,  how  they  want  the  refreshing  rain  of 

religious  literature,  of  good  literature !     We  are  now  publishing  Thirst  for 

the  Philippine  Christian  Advocate;  it  is  the  baby  of  the  Advocate  Reading 

.  -^  Matter 

family,  but  it  is  a  self-supporting  baby;    we  have  got  over  four 

hundred  and  fifty  Filipino  paid  subscriptions.     A  good  man  in 

Kansas  City  the  other  day  gave  us  a  one-thousand-dollar  press, 

and  a  good  Methodist  minister  who  had  made  some  money  on  a 

land  deal  gave  us  an  electric  motor.     We  are  going  to  get  out  a 

series  of  booklets.     We  are  going  to  scatter  periodical  literature 

and  tract  literature  and  fill  their  minds  with  the  things  that  are 

honest  and  lovely  and  of  good  report. 

What  kind  of  converts  are  we  getting?    They  are  mostly  poor;   The  Kind  of 

they  are  from  the  common  people,  who  have  felt  the  blight  of   Converts 

Roman  Catholic  oppression  most  severely.     Let  me  tell  you  just 

one  instance.     Here  is  a  fisherman  who  was  teaching  a  Bible 

class.     A  Filipino  priest  came  to  him  and  said,  "You  must  quit 

teaching  this  class ;    you  are  a  member  of  the  Catholic  Church." 


144 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


Imperative 
Needs 


Helping 
Together  by 
Prayer 


The  man  argued  a  little,  and  the  Filipino  priest  struck  him  down 
with  a  chair.  While  he  was  down  he  prayed  unto  God  for  the 
conversion  of  the  priest.  Now,  I  believe  that  is  about  as  much 
religion  as  you  have,  brother.  One  of  our  young  girls,  very 
clearly  saved,  a  sweet  little  girl  of  thirteen,  was  stricken  with  the 
cholera.  A  local  priest  came  to  her  and  said,  "You  must  take  the 
sacrament  of  extreme  unction,  for  you  are  going  to  die."  "No," 
she  said,  "last  May  I  let  Jesus  into  my  heart,  and  he  fills  my  soul 
with  gladness.  I  will  simply  go  to  be  with  Jesus.  If  I  die  I 
don't  want  your  sacraments."  So  she  died,  free  of  entanglements. 
But  the  eagerness  of  the  people  to  hear  and  to  come  in  is  ex- 
tremely gratifying. 

What  do  we  need  in  the  Philippine  Islands  ?  We  need  first  the 
living  messenger.  We  want  a  total  of  twenty-five  of  the  best 
young  and  middle-aged  men  that  can  be  found  in  the  Methodist 
ministry.  You  can  afford  to  come  out  there,  my  brethren,  to  do 
something  to  build  the  kingdom  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  We 
want  four  new  men  this  fall,  and  next  year  six  men.  Then  we 
want  women  missionaries  to  train  the  women.  We  want  two 
representative  churches  in  the  city  of  Manila  to  get  at  the  Filipinos 
on  one  side  of  the  river  and  the  Americans  on  the  other  side  of 
the  river.  The  Filipino  church  will  cost  twenty  thousand  dollars 
at  the  lowest  figure.  We  could  fill  it  every  day  in  the  week.  O, 
what  a  power  it  would  be  in  that  great  city  of  three  hundred 
thousand  people,  soon  to  be  a  million !    We  need  it. 

We  need  lastly,  brethren,  the  upholding  power  of  your  prayers. 
How  it  sweeps  over  us  as  we  stand  amid  those  problems !  "It  is 
not  by  might,  nor  by  an  army,  but  by  my  spirit,  saith  Jehovah  of 
hosts,"  that  we  must  bring  those  people  to  Christ.  Pray  for  us, 
that  our  health  may  be  preserved  and  our  message  borne  home  to 
the  people  by  the  deathless  energies  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  that  the 
marvelous  victories  of  early  Methodism  may  be  manifested  all 
over  that  archipelago.  So  we  shall  contribute  to  those  islands  a 
Christian  manhood,  sanctified  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  made  to 
stand  foursquare  to  every  wind  that  blows ! 


THE   OPEN    DOOR    IN    LATIN    COUNTRIES  145 

THE   OPEN    DOOR    IN    LATIN    COUNTRIES 

Bishop    C.    C.    McCabe 

I  AM  glad  the  theme  recognizes  the  fact  that  the  door  in  Latin  a  Door  Long 
countries  is  open.  It  was  not  always  open.  There  was  a  time  Closed 
when  it  was  closed,  and  it  was  closed  for  a  long  time.  It  was 
closed  for  fully  three  hundred  and  eighty  years.  Can  you  imagine 
what  could  be  the  condition  of  a  people  among  whom  it  was 
illegal  to  read  or  own  a  Bible,  or  to  have  a  Christian  service  in 
one's  own  home,  according  to  the  dictates  of  one's  own  con- 
science ;  illegal  for  a  child  to  learn  by  heart  the  23d  Psalm,  "The 
Lord  is  my  shepherd ;  I  shall  not  want"  ?  And  yet  that  is  what  the 
closed  door  has  meant  to  the  Latin  race. 

It  was  not  always  open.  It  was  not  open  when  the  Spanish 
king,  Philip  II,  sent  the  great  Armada  to  England  to  destroy 
English  liberty.  He  sent  one  hundred  and  twenty-six  ships  of 
v.-ar,  and  he  sent  thirty  thousand  soldiers.  They  failed,  as  we  all 
know.  Only  two  thousand  of  those  soldiers  ever  saw  their  homes 
again,  and  only  four  or  five  of  the  ships  ever  got  back  to  Spain. 
The  Spanish  historians  have  always  charged  it  upon  the  storm ; 
they  said  there  was  such  a  great  storm  that  it  destroyed  their 
ships.  It  seems  to  me  the  storm  would  beat  upon  the  little 
English  ships  as  heavily  as  upon  the  great  Spanish  ships.  The 
Spanish  went  back  defeated  and  discomfited.  The  door  was 
closed  then.  The  door  was  closed  when  the  Latin  race  under- 
took to  take  from  the  Valois  and  the  Albigenses  their  religious 
liberty.  It  was  closed  when  Philip  of  Spain  undertook  to  chastise 
the  Netherlands  and  compel  the  people  to  give  up  their  Bible 
and  their  religion.  But  they  didn't  succeed,  for  a  Dutchman  is 
stubborn ;  he  is  stubborn  when  he  is  born,  and  can't  help  it,  but 
when  he  gets  religion  he  is  ten  times  as  stubborn  as  he  was 
before.  And  for  eighty  years  those  Dutchmen  contended  for  the 
faith  as  it  is  in  Jesus  Christ.  But  all  that  time  amid  these  Latin 
races  the  door  was  closed,  closed  for  three  hundred  and  eighty 
years,  closed  so  long  that  the  hinges  grew  rusty,  and  it  did  not 
seem  as  though  the  door  could  ever  be  opened. 

I  once  saw  a  cartoon  in  Mexico  that  interested  me  amazingly,   a  Significant 
It  was  the  picture  of  a  Spaniard  carrying  on  his  back  a   fat  c*'"^""" 
priest,  with  great  labor  walking  along  with   him ;    the  priest, 
10 


146 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


Gleams  of 
Light  in 
Mexico 


however,  was  smiling  and  content.  Underneath  the  feet  of  the 
Spaniard  was  the  map  of  Spain  and  of  Portugal  and  of  France 
and  of  Italy.  That  was  published  broadcast  in  Mexico.  I  won- 
dered at  it.  I  was  glad  to  see  it  there,  for  it  seemed  to  me  there 
was  a  great  sermon  in  it.  I  sent  a  copy  of  it  to  the  Freeman's 
Journal,  of  New  York,  which  is  the  greatest  Roman  Catholic 
journal  of  this  country,  and  asked  them  to  republish  it,  and  they 
would  not  do  it.  I  suggested  that  if  they  should  republish  it  I 
would  like  to  make  an  amendment  to  that  map — I  would  like  to 
add  to  that  map  Mexico,  and  all  South  America,  and  all  Central 
America,  and  Cuba,  and  Porto  Rico,  and  the  south  of  Ireland, 
and  a  part  of  Canada.  The  editor  paid  no  attention  to  my  letter, 
because  my  letter  was  in  response  to  something  he  did — he  gave 
me  a  column  and  a  half  of  solid  abuse  for  something  I  had  said 
about  our  work  in  Mexico.  But  that  cartoon  had  a  great  lesson — 
the  burden  of  the  Spanish  race — and  for  all  these  years  that  has 
been  true. 

The  door  has  been  closed,  but  it  is  open  now.  Thank  God,  it 
is  open !  Let  us  be  glad  that  the  door  is  open  for  the  Latin  races. 
And  here  we  stand,  confronting  one  hundred  and  seventeen 
millions  of  human  beings  who  need  the  Gospel,  who  are  waiting 
for  it,  who  are  glad  that  we  are  preaching  it  to  them ;  and  many 
of  them  welcome  us  with  open  arms  and  glad  hearts. 

Through  that  open  door  there  come  gleams  of  light.  We  have 
in  Mexico,  which  is  a  part  of  the  Latin  race,  one  hundred  and 
twenty-five  congregations,  with  five  thousand  two  hundred  and 
twenty-one  members,  including  probationers.  We  have  ten 
thousand  besides  under  our  influence.  We  have  nearly  five  thou- 
sand children  in  our  day  schools,  and  three  thousand  in  our  Sab- 
bath schools.  Our  schools  are  turning  out  such  good  grades  of 
teachers  that  the  government  is  anxious  to  secure  them  to  teach 
In  the  government  schools.  More  than  eight  thousand  dollars 
was  raised  last  year  for  self-support.  In  addition  to  all  this  we 
have  a  printing  press  in  Mexico  which  is  turning  out  five  million 
pages  of  Christian  literature  every  year,  and  that  literature  is 
scattered  all  through  the  country.  I  had  occasion  to  come  across 
one  man  who  was  influenced  by  a  little  leaflet  that  came  to  him 
from  that  press.  One  day  I  was  riding  on  a  train,  and  a  Mexican 
went  through  calling  for  Bishop  McCabe.  When  I  made  myself 
known  to  him  I  had  to  speak  through  an  interpreter.     He  said 


THE   OPEN    DOOR    IN    LATIN    COUNTRIES 


147 


that  he  hved  five  miles  away,  in  the  mountains,  and  that  he  had 
heard  that  his  bishop  was  passing  through,  and  he  had  come 
down  to  make  him  a  httle  offering;  and  he  gave  me  a  httle 
basket,  containing  nine  eggs  and  two  quarts  of  beans  which  he 
had  brought  all  the  way  from  the  mountains.  It  was  a  very 
humble  offering  indeed,  but  it  did  me  good  to  look  into  his  face 
and  realize  that  he  was  a  converted  man.  I  said  to  him,  "How 
were  you  brought  to  Christ?"  He  said  that  the  presiding  elder 
gave  him  one  of  those  little  tracts,  and  he  read  it,  and  it  brought 
conviction  to  his  heart,  and  he  was  converted.  And  he  said,  "My 
wife  and  children  have  been  converted,  and  I  have  started  a 
prayer  meeting  in  my  house."  There  is  now  a  little  congregation 
there,  and  they  are  going  to  build  a  church  after  a  while,  all  from 
one  of  those  leaflets. 

These  are  some  of  the  gleams  that  come  to  us  from  Mexico. 
We  have  splendid  schools  there.  We  have  a  splendid  church  in 
the  city  of  Pachuca.  After  I  got  through  preaching  my  morning 
sermon  at  the  Conference  I  said  to  the  congregation,  "I  will  give 
you  five  hundred  dollars  if  in  the  next  half  hour  you  will  raise 
six  thousand  dollars  to  build  a  church  here  in  this  town."  We 
raised  five  thousand  dollars,  and  in  the  afternoon  we  raised  the 
other  thousand,  so  we  had  the  six  thousand  dollars,  and  since 
then  Bishop  Hamilton  has  dedicated  a  church  that  cost  over 
eighteen  thousand  dollars  gold.  It  is  the  finest  Protestant  church 
in  all  Mexico,  and  it  all  came  from  the  little  gift  of  five  hundred 
dollars  that  somebody  had  given  me.  It  is  always  safe  to  give 
me  money,  for  it  will  go  right  to  the  spot  and  do  something  like 
that  all  along  the  line.  The  finest  Protestant  church  in  Mexico 
out  of  a  gift  of  five  hundred  dollars ! 

We  have  a  splendid  business  school  at  Queretaro.  One  Sun- 
day evening  the  principal  of  it  said  to  me:  "I  have  letters  from 
all  over  the  country,  asking  me  to  take  boys,  but  I  cannot  take 
any  more.  I  wish  I  could  finish  tliis  building.  If  I  could  I  would 
say  yes  to  all  those  applications."  "Well,"  I  said,  "Brother 
Velasco,  how  much  will  it  take  to  finish  this  building?"  "It  will 
take  three  thousand  dollars  in  Mexican  money."  I  said,  "When 
would  you  like  to  begin  ?"  "Monday  morning."  This  was  Satur- 
day night.  I  said,  "All  right,  send  for  your  carpenter  and  go 
ahead."  And  he  did  it.  When  I  got  home  I  telegraphed  a  rich 
man,  "I  want  you  to  meet  me  at  the  railroad  station,  because  I 


A  Humble 
Offering 


Gifts  that 
Multiply 


A  Business 
School 


148 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


Size  of  South 
America 


Hcl^ools  for 
Ecuador 


want  to  go  home  and  spend  the  night  with  you."  He  was  there. 
On  the  way  I  told  him  the  story,  and  he  leaned  on  my  knee  and 
looked  me  in  the  face,  and  said,  "I  will  give  you  a  thousand  dol- 
lars on  one  condition — and  that  is  that  you  will  go  back  next 
year  and  do  it  again."  So  that  school  has  been  enlarged,  those 
boys  have  been  taken  into  the  school,  and  there  is  a  gleam  of  light 
coming  through  the  open  door  there. 

The  Woman's  Foreign  Missionary  Society  has  splendid  schools 
in  Mexico.  I  wish  you  could  see  those  children,  wnth  their  eager 
faces  sitting  before  you  while  you  are  talking  about  Christ.  It 
seems  to  me  the  women  are  doing  no  better  work  anywhere  in 
the  world  than  in  Mexico. 

I  have  just  been  in  South  America,  and  this  is  my  second  visit 
there.  It  is  a  great  thing  to  go  to  South  America.  That  name 
has  a  very  different  meaning  to  me  now  than  it  had  before  I 
went  there.  I  knew  nothing  about  it.  If  South  America  were 
one  great  nation,  and  all  those  republics  were  states,  there  would 
be  one  state  of  it,  Brazil,  which  would  come  within  one  hundred 
thousand  square  miles  of  being  as  large  as  the  whole  United 
States  put  together.  And  then  there  would  be  another  state  in  it 
that  would  make  four  states  as  big  as  Texas,  our  largest  State. 
I  was  amazed  at  its  vastness.  We  sailed  day  after  day  down  the 
western  coast,  and  it  seemed  to  me  that  I  never  had  the  slightest 
conception  of  the  magnitude  of  South  America  until  then. 

We  landed  at  Guayaquil.  Dr.  Wood  has  done  a  great  work, 
and  through  the  open  door  we  can  see  many  a  gleam  of  light 
coming  from  Ecuador.  He  went  up  to  Quito  at  the  request  of 
the  president  of  that  republic,  and  gave  him  a  plan  of  public  in- 
struction, which  was  adopted  by  the  president  and  the  cabinet, 
and  the  congress  passed  a  bill  adopting  it  and  giving  one  hundred 
thousand  dollars  to  carry  it  into  active  operation.  What  was  his 
plan?  To  have  three  training  schools  for  teachers,  and  con- 
nected with  each  school  there  should  be  a  model  school,  so  that 
the  teachers  in  training  could  see  just  how  a  school  ought  to 
be  conducted.  A  magnificent  plan !  Two  of  those  schools  have 
been  formed  and  have  been  in  successful  operation  for  some  time. 
It  was  feared  that  when  the  new  president  came  into  power  he 
would  not  favor  these  schools.  But  he  was  more  in  earnest  about 
them  than  his  predecessor  was,  and  the  schools  are  going  on.  A 
tragedy  occurred.     The  consul  of  the  republic  of  Ecuador  in  the 


THE   OPEN    DOOR    IX    LATIN    COUNTRIES  I49 

city  of  \^aIparaiso  was  very  much  in  favor  of  these  schools.  It 
was  through  his  advice  that  two  of  our  best  teachers  in  Santiago 
were  taken  from  that  school  and  sent  to  Ecuador  to  begin  those 
schools  there.  He  received  a  letter  one  night  warning  him  that 
his  life  was  in  danger.  He  paid  no  attention  to  it,  and  one  night 
he  was  assassinated  in  the  streets  of  Valparaiso ;  he  was  found 
dead  in  the  morning.  What  v/as  the  effect  upon  Ecuador  ?  They 
immediately  passed  a  bill  that  no  priest  or  bishop  should  ever 
again  be  a  member  of  the  house  of  representatives  or  of  the  senate 
of  Ecuador — that  was  the  effect  of  it. 

I  wish  you  would  preach  a  sermon  on  this  text — "Ye  can  do  civil  and 
nothing  against  truth  but  for  truth."  Ecuador  has  determined  ^■.eligious 
that  civil  and  religious  liberty  shall  prevail  all  through  that  coun- 
try. They  stoned  Dr.  Wood.  He  is  as  brave  as  a  lion,  but  a  riot 
was  stirred  up  against  him  by  a  priest.  While  they  were  stoning 
him,  one  of  the  Methodist  preachers  stepped  out  and  said,  "Look 
out,  that  is  a  Yankee !"  They  stopped,  but  he  had  been  hit  once. 
What  was  the  effect?  The  students  that  stoned  him  were  de- 
prived of  the  privilege  of  graduating  in  the  university,  and  the 
government  sent  for  the  archbishop  and  ordered  that  priest  de- 
posed, and  then  they  ordered  that  a  sermon  on  religious  liberty 
should  be  preached  in  that  pulpit,  and  it  was  done ;  and  so,  after 
all,  though  that  man  was  a  martyr  to  his  zeal  for  the  cause  of 
Christian  education,  the  great  cause  has  gone  on  in  Ecuador. 

We  landed  at  Callao,  Peru.    There  we  have  two  good  schools.  Place  of  the 
and  in  Lima  two  good  congregations.    It  is  wonderful  to  see  Dr.     °1^**^  "° 
Wood,  living  on  the  street  known  as  the  Place  of  the  Inquisition, 
where  he  can  look  out  of  his  window  and  see  the  old  inquisition 
over  there  across  the  street  and  know  that  out  of  its  gloomy  por- 
tals many  processions  of  Protestant  Christians  have  marched  to 
be  burned  to  death.    In  a  Spanish  book,  by  the  aid  of  a  translator, 
I  read  how  the  women  spoke  for  front  seats  upon  the  balconies 
when  those  people  were  burned  to  death.    There  is  no  blinking  it, 
there  is  no  forgetting  it ;    these  are  the  things  that  transpired  ' 
when  the  door  was  closed  and  we  could  not  get  into  these  Latin 
countries. 

In  Peru  there  is  a  gleam  of  light  which  comes  in  this  way. 
When  Francisco  Penzotti  was  in  prison  for  selling  Bibles  a  mem- 
ber of  the  house  of  representatives  rose  in  his  place  one  day,  and 
moved  that  a  greater  measure  of  religious  liberty  be  given  to  the 


150 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


A  Perforated 
Tent 


Fowler  and 

Grant 

Schools 


people.  It  was  voted  down  immediately,  and  that  man  was 
burned  in  effigy  in  Arequipa,  the  largest  town  in  Peru  except 
Lima.  But  now  eight  of  the  leading  members  of  that  house  have 
signed  their  names  to  a  bill  calling  for  the  abrogation  of  section 
four  of  the  constitution,  which  declares  that  the  religion  of  the 
republic  is  Roman  Catholic  and  no  other  will  be  tolerated.  There 
is  a  gleam  of  light  there. 

Religious  liberty  is  coming,  even  in  belated  Peru,  and  if  it 
comes  in  Peru,  it  will  come  in  Portugal,  and  the  door  will  be 
open  in  all  the  Latin  races  of  the  earth. 

Then  to  Iquique,  Chile.  A  year  ago  I  found  our  people  wor- 
shiping under  a  large  tent,  given  to  them  by  a  man  from  Chicago. 
One  night  I  was  preaching  there,  and  I  looked  up  and  saw  a  big 
hole  just  above  me.  "What  made  that  hole?"  I  asked.  "O," 
said  the  preacher,  "last  night  the  boys  threw  stones  and  a  stone 
came  right  down  here  on  the  platform  through  that  hole."  "Are 
they  going  to  do  that  to-night?"  I  asked.  "I  don't  know." 
"Where  shall  I  sit  to-night?"  "Sit  a  little  to  the  right  of  the 
hole,"  was  the  reply,  and  I  moved  my  chair  a  little.  I  said,  "You 
need  a  church  here."  He  answered,  "Yes,  we  do,  but  we  haven't 
even  the  money  to  buy  the  lot."  I  gave  them  a  thousand  dollars 
to  buy  the  lot.  This  year  I  dedicated  that  church,  and  we  only 
need  about  six  hundred  dollars  to  seat  it  and  to  finish  it,  and  that 
I  pledged,  and  then  we  dedicated  that  church  to  the  worship  of 
Almighty  God.  I  was  amused  at  the  Roman  Catholic  bishop. 
Saturday  just  before  we  dedicated  the  church  he  went  to  the 
mayor  and  asked  him  to  stop  the  dedication,  saying,  "Those 
Methodists  have  got  a  tower  on  their  church,"  The  mayor  said, 
"I  don't  care  how  many  towers  the  Methodists  have."  "Well," 
said  the  bishop,  "they  will  put  a  bell  in  next."  The  mayor  said, 
"Wait  until  they  get  the  bell  in,  and  come  to  me  when  they  get 
the  bell."  So  our  church  was  dedicated,  and  I  had  the  privilege 
of  preaching  in  it  when  we  had  five  hundred  people  in  the  con- 
gregation.   Now,  that  is  a  light  that  comes  through  the  open  door. 

At  Iquique  we  have  one  of  those  splendid  schools  established 
by  Messrs.  Fowler  and  Grant.  It  cost  them  two  hundred  thou- 
sand dollars  to  build  three  schools,  of  which  this  is  one.  I  wish 
we  could  find  another  Grant  and  another  Fowler  to  establish  just 
such  a  school  in  the  city  of  Lima,  for  we  need  one  there,  and 
beyond  all  description  we  need  a  church  there. 


THE   OPEN    DOOR    IN    LATIN    COUNTRIES 


151 


Down  at  Valparaiso,  where  we  have  a  congregation,  thei'e  was 
a  preacher  by  the  name  of  E.  E.  Wilson,  from  Iowa.  He  said, 
"When  Bishop  Newman  went  through  here,  nine  years  ago,  he 
called  for  the  Methodists,  and  found  we  had  four  in  the  whole 
city."  The  bishop  said  to  them,  "Be  faithful,  and  the  Church 
will  come  to  .your  aid  some  day."  And  I  now  saw  that  great 
congregation  of  five  hundred  souls  before  me  in  a  rented  hall.  I 
couldn't  help  it;  I  said  to  them,  "I  will  pledge  you  two  thousand 
dollars  if  you  will  build  a  church  here."  They  have  gone  on  with 
their  contributions,  but  I  don't  know  what  they  have.  That 
church  will  surely  be  built. 

On  to  Santiago,  and  then  to  Concepcion,  to  see  the  other  great 
schools  of  Fowler  and  Grant,  and  then  across  the  Andes  range 
over  into  Argentina.  What  a  trip  that  was !  I  have  had  many 
trips  in  the  service  of  the  Church,  but  never  one  that  impressed 
me  so  much  as  that  trip  over  the  Andes.  Then  down  through 
that  great  country  where  there  are  two  hundred  and  forty  million 
acres  of  land  that  will  yield  wheat,  at  least  twenty  bushels  to  the 
acre.  Four  billion  bushels  of  wheat  will  some  day  be  raised  in 
Argentina  in  one  year.  Don't  you  think  we  ought  to  be  there  to 
preach  to  those  farmers  and  home  builders  that  are  coming? 
That  whole  plateau  is  going  to  be  filled  with  the  homes  of  the 
people.  They  are  coming  from  all  lands.  One  hundred  thousand 
came  from  Italy  last  year.  When  I  found  how  many  were  com- 
ing from  Italy  I  sent  a  missionary  after  them  to  plant  the  Church 
of  Jesus  Christ  among  those  Italian  immigrants.  That  country  is 
taking  our  agricultural  implements.  Don  Nicholas  Lowe  told  me 
he  counted  eighty  cars  of  agricultural  implements  from  the  United 
States  going  to  the  interior  of  Argentina  in  one  day.  That  means 
that  a  great  population  is  coming  there  all  the  time.  I  wish  we 
had  a  thousand  Methodist  preachers  to  send  into  Argentina  at 
one  time. 

There  is  a  man  of  Buenos  Ayres  named  Seiior  Perody,  and  he 
is  secretary  of  the  senate  of  Argentina,  and  has  been  for  twenty- 
five  years.  When  his  twenty-five  years  were  expired  the  senate 
ofifered  him  a  pension  equal  to  his  salary,  and  offered  to  allow 
him  to  relinquish  work  and  do  nothing  for  the  rest  of  his  life 
except  to  draw  his  salary  for  his  faithful  services.  He  said,  "I 
don't  want  to  be  idle,  I  would  rather  keep  my  position."  Now 
think  of    that,  a  senate  composed  almost   entirely  of    Roman 


A  Growing 
Congregation 


Flocking  of 
Immigrants 
to  Argentina 


The 

Argentina 

Senate 


152 


THE    CLEX'ELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


Spirit  of 

Persecution 

Passing 


Superstitions 


Catholics  electing  a  Protestant  to  be  their  secretary.  There  is  a 
gleam  of  light  in  that;  it  shows  that  the  time  for  proscription 
and  for  intolerance  is  passing  away  in  that  country. 

There  is  one  more  thing  that  I  wish  to  speak  of  to  illustrate  the 
fact  that  this  spirit  of  intolerance  is  passing  away.  There  was  a 
man  by  the  name  of  G.  W.  Morris,  a  minister  in  the  Church  of 
England,  but  he  was  converted  in  our  church.  It  is  wonderful 
how  the  fruit  of  Methodism  hangs  over  the  wall  all  over  the 
world.  Morris  heard  the  congregation  singing,  and  he  went  in, 
and  they  were  singing,  'Tn  the  cross  of  Christ  I  glory,"  and  he 
told  me  that  standing  there,  joining  in  that  hymn,  he  gave  his 
heart  to  God,  and  was  converted  in  an  instant.  He  became  a 
missionary  in  the  city,  in  the  employ  first  of  our  Church,  and 
afterward  of  the  Church  of  England.  They  were  rich  and  they 
gave  him  money,  and  he  has  collected  eighteen  hundred  children 
together  in  his  day  schools.  He  needed  money,  and  some  of  the 
statesmen  of  Argentina  said,  "That  man  must  have  help,"  for  he 
had  an  industrial  school  on  week  days,  and  it  was  moved  that  he 
should  have  a  certain  amount  of  money — I  think  it  was  five  hun- 
dred Argentina  dollars  every  month — to  help  him  in  his  work. 
One  bishop  made  a  great  speech  against  it,  but  when  they  came 
to  take  the  vote  every  man  in  the  house  of  representatives  voted 
to  make  that  grant  except  that  priest — and  they  were  all  Roman 
Catholics.    You  see  that  the  spirit  of  persecution  is  passing  away. 

There  are  some  people  in  our  Church  that  don't  think  much  of 
our  missions  among  the  Roman  Catholics;  they  don't  think  they 
are  needed.  Come  with  me  to  a  place  called  Juncal.  There  is 
a  great  church.  They  have  put  a  million  dollars  in  it,  and  they 
say  it  will  cost  another  million.  In  that  big  church  there  is  a 
little  doll,  about  eighteen  inches  high,  dressed  in  satin,  crowned 
with  diamonds,  and  bespangled  with  jewels;  and  sometimes  as 
many  as  twelve  thousand  people  will  come  in  one  day  to  visit 
that  shrine,  and  they  fall  down  and  worship  that  doll.  Don't 
you  think  they  need  the  Gospel?  It  was  amazing  to  me  to  see 
that  on  the  wall  there  was  a  stone  of  marble,  and  on  that  marble 
was  carved  the  statement  that  Leo  XIII  had  sent  his  blessing  to 
tliat  shrine.  It  was  called  the  miracle-working  image.  Those 
people  really  imagine  the  image  works  miracles !  They  say  that 
two  hundred  years  ago,  when  a  man  was  driving  a  yoke  of  bul- 
locks drawing  an  image  of  the  Virgin,  the  oxen  stopped  at  that 


THE   OI'EN    DOOR    IN    LATIN    COUNTRIES 


153 


place.     They  tried  to  goad  them  oji,  but  they  would  not 'go  any 

farther.     The  crowd  shouted,  "A  miracle!     A  miracle!     The 

Virgin  wants  a  church  here !"     So  they  stopped  there  and  built 

a  church,  and  for  two  hundred  years  they  have  been  kneeling 

around  that  doll. 

On  the  west  coast  there  is  a  shrine  which  had  fifty  thousand  Miracles 
,  .  ,,  .  J    ii  -1  1  i       'T^  Claimed  at  a 

worshipers  this  year,  and  three  miracles  were  wrought.      Ihey  QYirine 

say  the  Holy  Ghost  came  down  in  the  form  of  a  butterfly,  and  one 

man  with  one  leg  went  in  and  worshiped  at  the  shrine  a  few 

minutes,  and  he  came  out  with  two  legs.    And  a  priest  fell  from 

a  great  height  and  got  up  and  walked  away.    They  tell  the  people 

these  things  and  the  people  believe  them.     But  the  worst  of  it 

was  that  for  three  or  four  days  fifty  thousand  people  were  lying 

around   on   those   hillsides,    and   all   kinds   of    immorality   was 

practiced  among  them.    Don't  they  need  the  Gospel?    Never  say 

again  that  they  do  not.    The  door  is  open  in  these  Latin  countries ; 

let  us  go  into  it  with  all  our  might  and  preach  to  them  the  Gospel 

of  the  Son  of  God. 

One  of  the  most  delightful  events  in  my  life  happened  in  Expectations 
Montevideo.  We  had  a  church  there  for  a  long  time,  but  it  had  "^^P^^^® 
grown  too  small,  and  I  wanted  to  see  another  erected  right  away. 
One  night,  at  a  prayer  meeting,  without  telling  anyone  what  I 
was  going  to  do,  I  started  a  collection,  and  we  got  eight  thousand 
dollars.  It  was  an  astonishing  collection ;  I  was  amazed.  I 
expected  a  thousand  dollars  that  night,  but  we  got  eight  thousand 
dollars.  The  archbishop  had  helped  me  wonderfully;  he  had 
written  a  book,  and  in  that  book  he  had  done  me  the  honor  to 
mention  me  as  coming  down  there  as  a  minister  plenipotentiary 
from  a  hostile  Church,  prepared  to  lead  the  people  away  from 
their  ancestral  faith.  That  excited  curiosity,  and  two  of  his  mem- 
bers came  to  hear  me  that  night  at  the  prayer  meeting.  One  of 
them  gave  one  thousand  dollars  in  gold,  and  another  five  hundred 
dollars  in  gold,  and  I  said,  "O,  that  mine  enemy  would  write  a 
book ! — would  write  another  book !"  We  raised  eight  thousand 
dollars,  and  we  increased  it  on  the  Sabbath  to  twelve  thousand 
dollars,  and  I  just  heard  yesterday  that  they  have  laid  the  corner 
stone,  that  the  money  is  collected,  and  a  church  worth  forty 
thousand  dollars  is  going  up  there  in  Montevideo. 

So  everywhere  throughout  the  country  these  great  things  are  An  Open  Bible 
going  on.    The  door  is  open,  and  the  light  is  gleaming  through  it. 


154  THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 

We  have  a  great  duty  to  these  Latin  races.  There  is  a  man  in 
France  by  the  name  of  M.  Demohns  who  has  written  a  book 
called  The  Superiority  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  Race  and  the  Reasons 
for  It.  He  gives  all  the  reasons  but  one.  He  begins  with  child- 
hood and  goes  on  through  the  schools  and  gives  all  the  reasons  but 
one,  and  that  is  the  difference  in  their  religion — there  is  no  use 
blinking  the  matter.  They  have  not  had  the  Bible  and  we  have. 
And  now  it  is  our  duty  to  give  them  the  word  of  God  in  rich 
abundance.  I  met  one  priest  there  that  was  giving  them  the 
Bible  as  he  thought ;  his  name  was  Padre  Vaughan,  a  brother 
of  Cardinal  Vaughan,  of  England,  and  he  told  me  he  had  dis- 
tributed one  hundred  thousand  copies  of  the  Scriptures  in  all 
South  America.  He  gave  me  a  copy  of  it,  and  I  turned  to  the 
eleventh  chapter  of  Hebrews  and  read  as  follows :  "By  faith 
Jacob  blest  his  sons,  worshiping  the  top  of  his  staff.  In  our 
translation  it  reads,  "J^^ob  blest  his  sons,  leaning  upon  the  top 
of  his  staff."  Think  of  the  grand  old  man  of  Peniel  worshiping 
a  cane  in  his  dying  hours !  That  is  what  they  taught  in  that  copy 
of  the  Holy  Scriptures.  But  let  us  have  the  Bible  all  through 
South  America,  and  we  will  show  you  regenerated  republics  in  a 
few  years. 

I  sent  one  man  up  in  Bolivia.  He  asked  to  go.  Some  Metho- 
dist ministers  are  like  Fitz-James  when  Roderick  Dhu  asked  him 
what  right  he  had  to  be  in  those  mountains,  and  he  replied: 

"  Brave  Gael,  my  pass,  in  danger  tried, 
Hangs  in  my  belt,  and  by  my  side. 


And,  if  a  path  be  dangerous  known, 
The  danger's  self  is  lure  alone." 


There  are  some  Methodist  ministers  of  which  that  might  be  said, 
"The  danger's  self  is  lure  alone."  That  man  went  up  alone  into 
the  mountains  of  Bolivia,  with  his  wife,  carrying  his  Bible  with 
him.  He  is  going  all  through  the  country.  He  did  this  very  wise 
thing — he  went  to  the  president  of  the  republic  and  got  permis- 
sion to  circulate  the  Holy  Scriptures  in  the  province  of  La  Paz. 
Permission  was  granted,  and  that  lifted  him  over  the  heads  of 
the  priests  and  bishops,  and  he  is  going  yet  from  home  to  home, 
from  hamlet  to  hamlet,  circulating  God's  holy  word.  He  is  a 
German,  though  he  speaks  the  Spanish  language  very  well. 


THE    OPEN    DOOR    IN'    EASTERN    ASIA  151^ 

These  are  some  of  the  hglits  that  gleam  through  tli*  open  Confident  of 
door.  I  never  felt  more  confident  in  my  life  that  we  are  going  Victory 
to  have  a  glorious  victory  among  the  Latin  race  than  I  do  to-day. 
I  have  just  been  in  Italy;  I  have  seen  our  great  work  there.  I 
have  just  been  in  some  of  the  nations  of  Europe,  and  I  have  seen 
how  the  glorious  work  is  going  on  there ;  and  I  say  that  I  am  a 
more  confirmed  optimist  than  ever.  I  believe  that  the  day  is 
coming  when  there  will  be  no  need  for  a  man  to  say  to  his 
neighbor,  "Know  the  Lord;  for  all  shall  know  him,  from  the 
least  unto  the  greatest !" 


THE   OPEN    DOOR    IN    EASTERN   ASIA 

Bishop  D.   H.   Moore 

The  three  great  empires  of  Japan,  Korea,  and  China  constitute, 
in  the  division  of  our  ecclesiastic  territory,  the  division  known 
as  eastern  Asia,  whose  open  doors  for  the  Gospel  I  am  to  bring 
to  your  thought.  I  have  forty  minutes  to  speak  of  one  third  of 
the  human  family,  forty  minutes  to  divide  between  three  empires. 
My  share  is  fair  and  right,  for  my  brother  who  is  to  follow  me 
has  also  a  vast  constituency ;  and,  all  together,  the  speakers  this 
afternoon  have  the  world  divided  among  them. 

Originally  these  people  must  have  been  the  same.  There  is  the  A  Common 
fact  of  the  common  written  language  that  stamps  them  with  a  °"^^° 
common  origin,  and  there  is  the  survival  of  customs  and  usages 
which  mark  them  as  kindred  peoples.  The  dominion  of  China 
extended  within  our  time  over  Korea,  and  there  was  dispute  as 
to  its  extension  over  Japan  itself,  which  in  the  remote  past  was 
proud  to  acknowledge  China  as  her  overlord.  And  so  these  three, 
for  all  practical  purposes,  may  be  considered  as  one.  Their  doors 
were  never  opened  until  comparatively  recently. 

Ancient  history  tells  nothing  about  China  save  the  fact  of  her  The  Impact  of 
self-determined  isolation ;  a  supposedly  magnificent  empire,  self-  *^®  ^®^* 
centered,  abundant  in  all  resources,  satisfied  with  herself,  and 
unwilling  to  enter  into  any  contact  and  competition  with  the  world 
beyond,  apparently  fearful  lest  her  idyllic  peace  and  plenty  might 
be  disturbed  by  the  rude  shock  of  outward  commerce.  Not  until 
a  comparatively  recent  period  did  the  impact  of  Western  com- 
merce and  the  great  development  of  the  intercommunication  of 


156 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


War  between 
Japan  and 
China 


The  Magic  of 
an  American 
Fleet 


nations  make  a  breach  in  the  walls  of  Chinese  exclusion.  Then 
the  merchants  of  Venice  carried  back  to  Europe  two  of  the  inven- 
tions of  the  Chinese,  which,  with  the  mariner's  compass,  revolu- 
tionized society,  overturned  governments,  and  laid  the  foundation 
for  those  mighty  cosmic  movements  that  are  in  process  to-day, 
the  result  of  which  will  be  China's  final  and  glorious  emancipa- 
tion. For  the  mariner's  compass,  gunpowder,  and  the  printing 
press  are  the  mightiest  agencies  of  human  reform  and  reconstruc- 
tion that  the  world  has  known — all  of  them  the  gifts  of  China  to 
the  world. 

But  it  was  reserved  for  the  conflict  between  China  and  some 
of  her  provinces  to  give  a  complete  opening,  undisputed  and  in- 
disputable, of  the  gates  of  China  to  the  commerce  and  the  religion 
of  the  outlying  civilizations.  Perhaps  you  have  recalled  already 
that  this  was  due  to  that  war  between  China  and  Japan,  which 
settled  once  and  forever  the  question  of  Japan's  dependence  upon 
China,  and  the  relations  of  Korea  to  China.  Upon  that  war 
turned  this  great  question,  receiving  its  final  solution  in  the  over- 
whelming victories  won  by  the  Japanese  over  the  Dragon  Flags 
of  the  hoary  empire  of  China.  The  guns  of  Japan  battered  down 
the  walls  of  Chinese  conservativism  and  exclusiveness,  and  from 
that  day  until  the  end  of  time  those  walls  never  can  be  rebuilt. 
They  are  dominated  by  the  guns  of  Japan,  that  newest  among  the 
mighty  nations  of  the  earth. 

And  you  may  as  well  now,  as  at  a  later  period  in  what  I  have 
to  say,  pause  long  enough  to  understand  that  it  was  the  United 
States  of  America  that  opened  Japan  to  the  civilization  which 
made  her  splendid  victory  an  easy  possibility.  You  are  to  re- 
member that  it  was  the  guns,  shotted  but  never  discharged,  the 
guns  of  the  American  navy,  under  Commodore  Perry,  that  broke 
open  the  Land  of  the  Morning  Sun,  and  gave  to  all  that  Eastern 
world  the  vivifying  and  transforming  touch  of  Western  civiliza- 
tion. It  was  the  religion  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  that  raised 
up  this  nation  and  girded  it  with  this  mighty  and  irresistible 
power.  The  Providence  of  God  led  the  United  States  into  such 
relations  with  Japan  as  opened  Japan  to  the  new  civilization,  and 
made  her  the  controlling  factor  in  the  great  questions  of  the  East ; 
so  that  when  Japan  swept  in  victory  over  the  borders  of  China, 
when  she  registered  her  superiority  on  the  bloody  plains  of 
Pyeng  Yang,  when  she  stormed  the  almost  impregnable  fortresses 


THE   OPEN    DOOR    IN    EASTERN    ASIA  157 

of  Port  Arthur,  and  when  she  swept  down  the  coast  and  took  the 
magnificent  island  of  Formosa,  when  she  was  ready  and  able  to 
lead  her  resistless  hosts  on  to  the  capital  of  the  very  empire  itself, 
so  that  other  Christian  nations  had  to  interpose  to  preserve  the 
integrity  of  China — that  was  the  end  of  the  old  and  the  beginning 
of  the  new  eastern  Asia. 

Take  these  facts  also  into  consideration :  See  how  on  every  Commerce, 
side  the  growth  of  commerce  and  the  eager  spirit  of  scientific  |"J°'Jon^"*^ 
inquiry  and  investigation — these  two  coordinate  divisions  of  the 
grand  army  of  human  progress,  trade  and  science — joined  with 
that  mightiest  of  the  trinity  of  forces  for  the  civilization  and 
regeneration  of  mankind,  our  holy  religion,  have  marched  con- 
verging upon  the  great  empire  of  China  to  solve  the  question  of 
the  East  forever.  The  doors  that  were  only  ajar,  and  then 
pushed  back  a  little  farther  so  that  a  dim  and  imperfect  view  of 
what  lay  beyond  was  secured,  now  by  the  third  great  act  in  the 
unfoldings  of  God's  Providence  have  been  flung  wide  open,  and 
our  eyes  are  permitted  to  feast,  in  a  very  revel  of  wonder  and 
amazement,  upon  the  riches  and  possibilities  of  that  great  empire. 
For  could  anything  but  Divine  Providence  have  made  the  wrath 
of  men  so  to  praise  him  as  to  lead  the  empress  dowager  into 
such  a  bewilderment  of  madness  as  to  bring  down  upon  herself 
and  upon  her  empire  at  once  the  united  power  and  wrath  of  the 
civilized  nations  of  the  world?  That  keen  and  subtle  diplomacy 
which  through  all  the  past  had  been  her  mightiest  weapon  of 
defense  and  offense  ;  her  ability  to  play  one  nation  against  an- 
other and  so  to  neutralize  the  efforts  of  the  peoples  of  the  world 
to  secure  adequate  treaty  conventions  and  commercial  privileges — 
all  this  she  lost  forever  when  at  one  blow  she  smote  all  the  ofihcial  A  Lost 
representatives  of  the  mightiest  nations  of  the  earth,  and  sent 
hurrying  to  her  citadel  the  strength  and  resources  of  the  Christian 
world.  The  powers  that  marched  into  China  were  Christian 
powers,  every  one  of  them.  They  came  from  the  east  and  from 
the  west  and  from  the  north  and  from  the  south.  They  bore 
banners  of  different  devices,  but  over  every  banner,  flaming  in 
the  sky,  was  the  sign  of  Constantine,  made  new  for  this  last 
crusade  for  human  liberty  and  for  the  triumph  of  the  Gospel  of 
Jesus  Christ. 

God  has  strange  ways  of  introducing  his  truth.     The  Old  Tes- 
tament is  full  of  instances  where  by  means  that  seem  to  us  cruel, 


Position 


158  THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 

terrible  in  their  devastation,  God,  who  is  the  ruler  of  mankind, 
has  so  carried  forward  his  cause  that,  while  giving  to  all  their 
just  dues  and  extending  to  all  a  charity  and  love  as  infinite  as  his 
own  immortality,  he  has  set  forward  the  standards  of  ultimate 
truth  and  brought  mankind  nearer  together  in  the  community  of 
those  interests  and  blessings  in  which  their  highest  prosperity  and 
noblest  destiny  shall  be  realized.  So  it  was  here.  The  last  door 
The  Upheaval  of  China  was  burst  asunder  by  that  union  of  the  imperial  power 
of  China  with  the  unauthorized  acts  of  the  Boxer  bands  of  the 
empire.  This  heaved  from  its  hinges  the  last  door;  and  China, 
from  Peking  to  the  uttermost  borders  of  her  magnificent  empire, 
is  now  by  imperial  edict  free  and  safe  for  the  advance  of  the 
Christian  missionary.  Recent  outbreaks  in  Szchuen  Province 
are  only  the  guerrilla  warfare  that  has  been  waged  from  the 
beginning,  and  doubtless  will  be  waged  until  that  happy  time 
comes,  hastened  by  your  increased  devotion  and  consecration, 
when  China  shall  feel  in  every  fiber  the  regenerating  grace  and 
matchless  power  of  the  living  God.  Sir  Robert  Hart  says,  truly : 
"If,  in  spite  of  official  opposition  and  popular  irritation,  Chris- 
tianity were  to  make  a  mighty  advance  it  might  so  spread  as  to 
convert  China  into  the  friendliest  of  the  friendly  powers  and  the 
foremost  patron  of  all  that  makes  for  peace  and  good  will ;  and 
thus  prick  the  Boxer  balloon  and  disperse  the  noxious  gas  which 
threatens  to  swell  the  race-hatred  program,  and  to  poison  and 
imperil  the  world's  future."  Yes,  these  outbreaks  will  occur,  my 
hearers,  until  you  and  I  and  Christians  everywhere  realize  that  we 
are  the  gauge  upon  the  great  wheel  of  missionary  progress.  For 
our  own  sake,  for  the  sake  of  the  multitudes  of  the  earth,  let  us 
see  to  it  that,  so  far  as  in  us  lies,  an  ending  shall  be  put  once  and 
forever  to  the  possibility  of  such  outbreaks,  by  bringing  this 
great  country  to  the  foot  of  the  cross. 

So  China  is  now  open  for  evangelistic  work  everywhere.  Even 
in  the  province  of  Szchuen,  which  seems  to  be  the  storm  center, 
our  ministers  and  native  pastors  are  going  up  and  down  preaching- 
Christ,  and  at  times  to  those  who  have  fled  for  refuge  into  the 
cities.  They  are  compelled  now  and  then,  as  lately  in  the  city  of 
Tsichou,  to  take  up  arms  to  reinforce  inadequate  garrisons,  and 
to  help  drive  off  the  Boxers  hordes  that  lay  siege  to  the  defenses. 
But  the  power  of  the  government  is  now  on  the  side  of  religious 
toleration.     It  is  no  longer  behind  and  supporting  these  Boxer 


THE   OPEN    DOOR    TX    EASTERN    ASIA  159 

movements.  The  Boxers  arc  outlaws,  and  every  magistrate  in 
the  empire  who  fails  to  the  utmost  of  his  ability  to  meet  and  resist 
all  endeavors  to  reopen  the  lamentable  troubles  of  the  past  is 
promptly  removed  from  his  office,  and  if  his  offense  is  glaring  his 
head  is  removed  from  his  shoulders. 

Do  not  for  a  moment  believe  that  China  has  been  converted  Awakened, 
into  a  love  for  foreigners  or  for  Christianity.  I  would  have  very  xransformed 
little  respect  for  her  if  such  an  immediate  transformation  could 
be  wrought.  If,  with  the  recollection  of  the  outrages  she  has 
suflFered  from  Christian  powers ;  if,  smarting  under  the  retril)U- 
tion  that  has  recently  been  inflicted  upon  her  by  the  allied  armies ; 
if,  after  the  atrocities  that  under  Christian  flags  have  been  inflicted 
upon  her  and  which  can  but  leave  scars  and  sores  hard  to  heal 
and  wounds  that  will  continue  to  vex  her  for  generations  to 
come — if  after  all  these  things  she  had  been  so  soon  converted 
into  love  for  foreigners  or  for  Christianity,  then  human  nature 
would  contradict  the  principles  of  its  own  creation.  But  I  believe 
that,  through  and  through,  China  has  come  to  realize  that  the 
past  is  forever  past,  and  that  she  has  entered  upon  a  new  era. 
She  looks  to  the  right  and  to  the  left,  and  asks  what  must  be 
done  to  meet  the  emergency ;  and,  astonished  at  the  unparalleled 
growth  of  Japan,  seeks  through  her  to  attain  the  same  power. 
Herein  lies  an  immediate  peril ;  for  Japanese  leaders  seek  to 
adopt  the  material  advantages  of  Christian  civilization,  without 
the  informing  and  sustaining  spirit  of  Christianity  itself.  But 
let  China  secure  the  colossal  power  of  Western  civilization,  un- 
tempered  and  uncontrolled  by  the  vital  principles  of  Christianity, 
and  she  becomes  "The  Yellow  Peril"  that  has  haunted  the  dream 
of  Europe  for  a  generation.  Hence  the  supreme  need  of  re- 
doubling our  efforts  to  regenerate  Japan,  and  to  seize  upon 
China's  eager  desire  for  Western  learning  as  affording  a  wide- 
open  door  to  plant  and  multiply  positively  Christian  schools 
of  the  best  quality ;  so  that  with  the  consciousness  of  power 
China  will  have  also  the  consciousness  of  love  and  obligation, 
to  bind  her  in  friendly  intercourse  with  the  peoples  of  the 
world. 

So  we  have  a  wide-open  door ;   not  only  to  preach  the  Gospel  clamor  for 
everywhere,  but  also  to  establish  Christian  schools  everywhere.   Christian 
The  clamor  for  these  schools  is  incessant.    It  rolls  like  the  thunder 
of  the  surf  upon  the  coast.     It  is  more  than  a  Macedonian  cry, 


i6o 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


The  Healing 
Touch 


Proclaiming 
Evangels 


repeated  by  the  four  hundred  milHon  people  of  that  vast  empire — 
"Come  over  and  educate  us." 

The  hospital  is  another  open  door.  Through  the  hospital,  in- 
fluences are  carried  into  the  very  center  of  the  domestic  and  the 
political  life  of  China.  Opportunities  are  afforded  by  our  hospi- 
tals and  dispensaries,  through  our  consecrated  and  skillful 
physicians  and  surgeons,  to  get  a  mighty  hold  upon  the  people. 
The  almost  miracles,  wrought  by  Western  science,  sanctified  by 
the  Spirit  of  the  living  God,  become  so  many  living  witnesses  of 
the  blessedness  of  the  Gospel ;  and  thus  prepare  the  way  for  the 
advancement  of  Christ's  kingdom. 

Open  doors.  I  have  not  time  to  emimerate  the  places,  but  all 
China  is  open.  Look  at  the  map,  put  your  finger  anywhere  and 
if  your  Church  is  not  represented  there  by  its  missionary  forces 
some  other  Church  equally  good  is  there,  represented  by  its  mis- 
sionary forces.  But  what  are  these  among  so  many?  Let  us  see 
to  it  that  they  are  reinforced  by  hundreds  of  thousands  of  men 
and  women  of  the  very  highest  culture,  of  the  most  undoubted 
piety,  men  and  women  who  have  a  divine  call  to  this  foreign 
field,  supported  by  the  generous  gifts  and  sustained  by  the  unceas- 
ing prayers  of  the  Church. 

So  we  have  these  three  great  doors  opening  into  one  common 
nation.  They  are  so  many  different  entrances  to  the  same  great 
center,  so  many  different  ways  to  the  same  great  result.  For  our 
schools,  if  they  are  missionary  schools,  must  be  evangelistic 
agencies ;  our  hospitals,  if  they  are  missionary  hospitals,  must  be 
evangelistic  agencies ;  and  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel  must  be 
from  hearts  that  know  they  have  been  redeemed,  and  that  have 
the  witness  of  the  Spirit  that  they  are  born  again,  and  that  can 
preach  with  the  demonstration  of  the  Spirit  and  with  power  the 
unsearchable  riches  of  Jesus  Christ.  Once  put  that  kind  of  living 
power  into  China,  and  we  have  the  great  problem  of  the  occupa- 
tion of  the  field  practically  solved. 

There  are  one  or  two  encouraging  facts  that  T  must  name  be- 
fore yielding  the  floor  to  one  so  much  more  deserving  of  your 
hearing — that  noble  man  who  has  given  his  life  for  India  and 
who  stands  before  us  to-day  a  shadow  of  his  former  self,  the 
substance  having  been  laid  upon  the  altar — to  Bishop  Thoburn, 
and  to  Bishop  Hartzell,  the  worthy  successor  of  our  matchless 
Bishop  Taylor. 


THE    OPEN    DOOR    TX    EASTERN    ASIA  t6t 

First,  we  are  apt  to  forget  that  there  is  a  vast  force  at  vv(irk  in  The  Worth  of 
China,  in  a  way  different  from  ours,  and  that  sometimes  seems  ^o^^^iism 
to  us  reprehensible  and  faulty ;  and  yet  a  force  that  has  been 
working  for  generations  when  we  were  asleep  as  to  our  duty.  I 
condemn  the  faults  and  deplore  the  mistakes  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church  ;  but  I  thank  God  with  all  my  heart  that  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church  exists  to-day.  If  it  were  in  my  power 
by  a  touch  of  my  hand  I  would  not  blot  that  Church  out  of 
existence.  If  the  laying  down  of  my  life  upon  the  altar  were  the 
only  price  by  which  that  Church  could  be  perpetuated  in  the 
world,  my  life  would  be  a  glad  offering  for  its  perpetuation ; 
because,  my  brethren,  that  Church  has  the  doctrines  of  Jesus 
Christ.  Buried  it  may  be,  under  its  superstitions,  errors,  and 
misconceptions ;  but  dig  down  deep  enough  and  you  uncover 
Christ,  even  in  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  in  all  his  power  and 
in  all  his  splendor.  That  Church  has  labored  and  we  have  entered 
into  its  labors. 

When  I  reached  Peking,  I  went  over  the  works  that  had  been  Catholics 
built  by  our  matchless  Gamewell.  (What  a  splendid  name  that  is  p^Q^gg^-autg 
for  a  military  hero,  and  what  a  victorious  contest  he  fought  for  the  in  Peking 
cause  of  Jesus  Christ,  right  there  in  the  heart  of  pagan  China!) 
When  I  looked  over  the  works  our  own  matchless  Gamewell  had 
constructed,  and  saw  the  evidences  of  the  awful  carnage  that  had 
raged  all  about  them,  my  heart  swelled  with  admiration  for  the 
man  and  for  the  little  garrison  that  fought  the  battle  out  until 
the  victory  came.  Let  us  remember  that  the  Roman  Catholics 
and  the  Protestants  were  all  there  together.  They  came  marching 
up  from  our  compound,  Roman  Catholic  and  Protestant  Chris- 
tians, side  by  side.  I  sometimes  think  that  is  a  prophecy  of  a 
time  when  we  shall  forget  all  about  St.  Peter's  and  Rome  and 
John  Wesley  and  all  that,  and  Roman  Catholics  and  Protestants, 
arm  in  arm,  shall  go  swinging  along  on  the  march  to  everlasting 
victory.  God  grant  that  it  may  come,  and  come  speedily !  I  went 
over  to  where  the  Roman  Catholics  made  their  own  fight,  in  their 
own  Peitang  Cathedral,  and  saw  there  the  evidences  of  a  conflict 
more  terrible  than  that  which  raged  about  our  own  fortifications ; 
saw  where  the  great  explosion  had  swept  so  many  of  their  chil- 
dren into  eternity ;  looked  all  through  the  ruins  of  that  great 
structure,  and  my  heart  was  made  very  tender.  I  had  heard  how 
the  old  Archbishop  Favier  had  stood  there  alone,  inspiring  and 
11 


1 62 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


A 

Reformation 
Yet  to  Be 


The  Chinese  a 
Mighty  Race 


leading  the  little  handful  that  defended  that  citadel  of  the  faith. 
I  asked  to  see  him,  and  they  took  me  into  his  room.  There  he 
was,  with  his  legs  swathed  in  bandages,  suffering  from  rheuma- 
tism. He  looked  to  me  like  an  incarnation,  not  of  the  spirit  of 
Mars  and  of  battle,  but  of  the  spirit  of  Michael,  the  archangel. 

Before  you,  the  representatives  of  the  Methodist  Church,  before 
you  the  young  Methodists,  the  Methodism  of  the  future,  I  say 
there  is  a  spirit  in  the  bosom  of  the  great  Roman  Catholic  Church 
sublime  and  heroic,  from  the  days  of  St.  Francis  Xavier  down  to 
our  own ;  a  spirit  that  has  given  to  the  cause  of  Christ  martyrs 
by  the  hundreds  and  thousands,  and  that  will  yet  bring  it  into  line 
with  the  most  advanced  and  blessed  movements  of  the  Gospel. 
As  in  the  past  there  was  a  Luther  and  a  Reformation  that  arose 
in  that  Church  and  swept  out  over  the  world  and  again  making 
it  new,  and  as  in  later  times  out  of  that  Reformation  there  came 
a  Wesley  and  an  Oxford  movement  sweeping  over  the  world  and 
again  making  it  new,  so  the  time  is  possibly  not  far  in  the  future 
when  out  of  that  Church  will  come  another  Luther  and  another 
Wesley,  and  the  end  will  draw  nigh.  I  love  to  think  that  that 
mighty  Church  needs  only  to  be  touched  into  life  and  vitalized 
into  active  and  earnest  piety  to  be  such  an  organization  as,  joined 
with  the  organizations  of  Protestantism,  shall  assure  the  conquest 
of  the  world  for  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

Finally,  this  other  fact,  that  down  deep  beneath  the  supersti- 
tions and  errors  of  China,  down  below  fetiches  and  fetich  worship, 
and  all  the  monstrous  incrustation  of  errors  that  has  overgrown 
the  system  of  Confucian  ethics,  there  is  in  China  such  a  sub- 
stratum of  moral  teaching  and  faith  as  cannot  be  found  elsewhere 
on  the  face  of  the  earth^ — a  foundation  already  prepared  for  the 
beautiful  superstructure  of  the  Christian  religion.  Not  a  stone 
of  that  foundation,  so  far  as  the  morality  of  Confucius  is  con- 
cerned, needs  to  be  changed ;  all  we  have  to  do  is  to  put  into  it 
the  life  and  power  of  the  religion  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  the  very 
3tones  will  cry  out  in  praise  and  adoration  unto  our  Lord. 

Thus  you  see  what  preparation  is  made  for  the  final  victory. 
Can  you  doubt  that  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  has  come  unto  all? 
While  other  nations  have  filled  the  world  with  their  glittering 
splendor,  and  have  sunk  and  been  forgotten,  why  has  China  been 
preserved?  Is  the  noblest  form  of  Christianity  to  be  wrought  out 
in  China  ?    I  adore  my  own  flag,  my  own  people,  made  up  of  the 


THE   OPEN    DOOR    IN    AFRICA  163 

best  nations  of  the  world,  but  I  go  down  upon  my  knees  in  tiumble 
reverence  before  the  majesty  of  the  mighty  Chinese  race.  The 
noblest  people  on  the  face  of  the  earth  are  standing  there  man- 
acled, waiting  for  the  power  of  the  Gospel  to  strike  off  their  fetters 
and  let  them  go  free.  Yes,  the  wires  are  all  strung  in  China,  all 
strung;  the.  poles  are  up,  the  wires  are  strung.  It  only  needs 
the  dynamo  of  the  Gospel  and  connection  with  that  great  Source 
of  spiritual  electricity  to  have  the  Light  of  the  World  flash  in 
splendor,  from  the  rivers  to  the  ends  of  the  earth ! 


THE   OPEN    DOOR    IN   AFRICA 

Bishop    J.    C.    Hartzell 

Africa  is  the  last  continent  to  be  opened  to  the  Gospel,  and  The  Fullness 
her  peoples  are  the  last  great  section  of  the  human  family  to  be  ®  '°^* 
reached  by  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Christ.  The  fullness  of  time  has 
come,  in  the  providence  of  God,  to  this  continent  and  people,  as 
certainly  as  it  did  in  the  coming  of  our  Lord,  in  the  supreme 
moment  of  the  world's  redemption.  And  how  quickly  it  has  all 
been  done !  Only  yesterday  that  vast  continent  was  under  a  veil 
of  mystery.  On  the  northeast  corner  in  the  distant  past,  that 
veil  was  lifted  by  the  peoples  of  Asia  and  there  developed  the 
civilizations  of  Egypt.  Later,  along  the  Mediterranean  Sea,  the 
edge  of  that  veil  was  lifted  a  little  and  cities  and  empires  grew 
and  passed  away.  In  still  later  times  along  both  coasts  and  in  the 
far  south  the  edges  of  the  continent  were  explored ;  but  until  a 
few  years  ago  that  vast  continent,  the  oldest  of  the  earth,  and 
one  destined  to  have  a  very  large  place  in  the  future  of  the  world, 
was  hidden  in  mystery.  We  know  not  for  how  many  thousands 
of  years  her  multitudes  dwelling  in  barbaric  heathenism  had 
been  babbling  their  many  tongues.  We  only  know  that  there 
was  mystery  and  tragedy  and  uncertainty.  Within  a  very  few 
years  that  veil  has  been  lifted  and  you  and  I  now  look  upon  the 
map  of  all  Africa,  trace  her  rivers,  measure  her  mountains, 
estimate  her  wealth,  count  her  peoples,  and  study  their  religions. 

On  no  other  continent  have  so  many  w'onderful  things  been  Crowding  of 
done  in  so  brief  a  time.    Only  in  our  time  was  it  possible  to  over-   *  ®  "^^^ 
come  the  physical  difficulties  of  subduing  that  continent.     The 
great  Sahara  Desert  and  the  Abyssinian  ^lountains  confined  the 


164 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


Journey  of 
LivinRStone 


European 
Wars  in 
Africa  Ended 


Roman  empire,  the  early  Christian  Church,  and  Egyptian  ambi- 
tions to  the  lower  valleys  of  the  Nile  and  a  little  strip  along  the 
Mediterranean.  Many  hundreds  of  thousands  of  lives  were  lost 
as  the  centuries  passed  in  attempts  to  penetrate  the  interior 
through  the  deadly  malaria  of  the  coasts.  The  modern  railway 
alone  could  carry  civilization  to  the  heart  of  Africa.  Medical 
science  has  now  begun  to  grapple  successfully  with  the  fevers  of 
Africa  and  other  tropical  climes.  At  no  other  period  of  modern 
times  were  the  diplomatic  relations  of  Europe  such  as  to  have 
permitted  the  parceling  out  of  a  continent  and  the  organization 
of  colonial  governments  over  so  vast  an  area,  without  tre- 
mendous wars.  Africa  to-day  presents  an  era  of  nation  building 
without  a  precedent  in  history,  while  exploration,  commerce, 
diplomacy,  science,  missionary  movements  are  centering  upon 
the  i\frican  continent  in  a  most  marvelous  manner. 

It  was  only  in  1841  that  the  immortal  Livingstone  began  to 
thread  his  way  northward  from  Cape  Town  through  Bechuana- 
land  two  thousand  miles  to  the  Zambesi,  then  to  St.  Paul  de 
Loanda,  on  the  West  Coast.  From  there  he  retraced  his  steps  to 
the  Zambesi,  discovered  Victoria  Falls,  and  pushed  eastward 
across  the  continent  to  the  shores  of  the  Indian  Ocean.  That  jour- 
ney was  inspired  by  God  in  the  heart  of  that  Christian  missionary, 
and  its  story  startled  and  aroused  the  Christian  world.  Other 
discoveries  followed,  and  then  came  the  organization  of  the 
Congo  Free  State  by  a  congress  of  nations  at  Brussels.  This 
great  event  also  was  providential,  for  King  Leopold  had  a 
supreme  desire  to  benefit  Africa.  A  little  later  came  the  parti- 
tion of  practically  the  whole  continent  among  the  chief  nations 
of  Europe.  The  close  of  the  South  African  war  marks  the  end 
of  this  brief  but  momentous  period  in  the  history  of  Africa,  which 
was  begun  by  the  explorations  of  Livingstone.  Pretoria,  where 
the  terms  of  peace  between  the  Briton  and  the  Boer  were  signed, 
will  be  another  historic  spot  not  only  as  relates  to  the  English 
and  Dutch  peoples,  but  to  the  whole  of  the  African  continent.  It 
means  the  end  of  European  wars  in  Africa,  and  that  from  now  on 
the  dividing  lines  between  the  colonial  possessions  of  different 
nations  in  Africa  are  practically  adjusted,  and  that  the  adminis- 
trative and  diplomatic  forces  of  England  and  France  and 
Germany  and  the  other  nations  interested  will  be  concentrated 
upon  questions  of  practical  government,  the  development  of  the 


THR    OPRN:    nOOR    IN    AFRICA  165 

continent,  and  the  best  interests  of  the  mnltitude  of  ifatives. 
The  end  of  this  historic  period  also  means  that  all  Africa  is  now 
open  to  the  forces  of  Christianity.  \"ery  soon  there  will  be  a 
continental  system  of  railways  with  commercial  enterprises  and 
intercommunication  everywhere ;  there  will  be  vast  agricultural 
and  mineral  wealth ;  growth  of  centers  of  power  wherever  Anglo- 
Saxon  civilization  will  be  possible,  and  the  development  o£ 
permanent  government  among  the  natives  throughout  the  whole 
continent. 

It  is  difficult  to  realize  how  large  an  open  door  God  has  placed  A  Vast 
before  the  Church  in  Africa.  There  is  room  enough  on  the  lower  Continent 
end  of  the  continent  for  the  whole  of  the  United  States  with  her 
85,000,000  of  people ;  Europe,  with  her  many  states  and  hundreds 
of  millions,  can  be  placed  on  one  side  of  Central  Africa ;  China, 
with  her  400,000.000,  could  be  accommodated  on  the  other  half 
of  Central  Africa,  and  there  is  plenty  of  room  for  all  India,  with 
her  300,000,000,  and  England  and  Wales,  Scotland  and  Ireland 
in  the  lower  valleys  of  the  Nile  and  along  the  coasts  of  the  Medi- 
terranean;  while  there  is  plenty  of  room  for  Porto  Rico  and  the 
Philippines  on  the  islands  of  Zanzibar  and  Madagascar  and  other 
islands  on  the  East  and  West  Coasts.  The  12,500,000  square 
miles  of  territory  on  the  African  continent  equals  that  of  all  other 
countries  in  w'hich  our  Church  has  foreign  missions ! 

The  population  of  Africa  to-day  is  comparatively  small,  not 
more  than  150,000,000.  This  means  an  average  of  not  more  Room  to 
than  twelve  people  to  the  square  mile.  This,  too,  would  seem  to  ^^^^^ 
be  a  providential  fact.  Instead  of  a  continent  crowded  with 
peoples  crushed  under  the  weight  of  dying  civilizations  and  false 
religions,  intrenched  in  philosophies  and  customs  hoary  with 
age,  Africa  presents  a  section  of  the  earth  largely  yet  to  be 
occupied,  and  her  native  peoples  ready  for  the  molding  influences 
of  the  Gospel. 

It  is  important  not  only  to  understand  the  number  of  people 
in  Africa,  but  their  relation  to  each  other.  Of  the  150,000,000, 
not  more,  perhaps,  than  1,200,000  are  white  people,  and  among 
these  are  counted  at  least  300,000  of  the  mixed  Caucasian  peoples 
along  the  Mediterranean.  In  South  Africa,  where  alone  there 
can  be  a  large  center  of  Anglo-Saxon  civilization,  there  are  not 
more  than  800,000  white  people;  while  in  the  great  heart  of  the 
continent,  with  its  more  than  125,000,000  black  natives,  there  are 


1 66 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


Small  White 
Population 


Justice  and 
Progress 


Sons  of  Ham 
andof  Japhetli 


hardly  100,000  white  people.  Along  the  eastern  coast  there  are 
possibly  300,000  people  from  India,  and  the  number  is  rapidly 
increasing.  It  would  seem  that  eastern  Africa  is  to  be  to  the 
overflowing  populations  of  India  what  America  has  been  and  is 
to  the  people  of  Europe.  These  figures  show  how  comparatively 
small  is  the  white  population  of  the  whole  continent.  Now  add  to 
this  the  momentous  fact  that  in  the  providence  of  God  the  govern- 
ing forces  of  all  Africa  are  in  the  hands  of  white  men,  and 
we  are  face  to  face  with  the  vast  significance  of  the  open  door 
in  Africa  to  America  and  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  because 
of  their  greatness  and  their  moral  responsibility  in  the  redemp- 
tion of  the  world.  In  a  few  years  the  whole  Dark  Continent  has 
become  a  part  of  "the  white  man's  burden."  For  centuries — we 
know  not  how  many — the  black  races  of  Africa  have  lived  on  in 
the  midst  of  barbaric  heathenism  without  developing  permanent 
or  effective  civilization,  beyond  some  centers  of  fairly  well  or- 
ganized social  order.  The  failure  of  the  black  races  to  utilize  the 
natural  resources  of  the  African  continent  for  the  good  of 
humanity  has  been  manifested.  Whether  in  the  future  there  will 
be  any  great  black  nationalities  we  do  not  know.  What  is  now 
evident  is  that  when  the  civiHzed  world  needed  Africa  for  her 
overflowing  populations  and  expanding  commerce  it  became 
necessary  for  governments  controlled  by  white  men  to  take  pos- 
session of  the  continent.  On  man's  side  the  motives  have  not 
always  been  good,  but  in  all  ages  God's  overruling  providences 
have  been  and  still  are  manifest.  The  black  races  of  Africa,  and, 
through  them,  of  the  world,  are  to  have  their  chance  in  the 
twentieth  century  under  the  direction  and  government  of  the 
sons  of  Japheth. 

Civilizations  are  never  indigenous,  and  the  open  door  in  Africa 
means  that  the  civilization  of  the  white  races  is  to  be  established 
in  all  that  continent,  and  the  special  problem  of  the  great  nations 
having  this  work  in  hand,  led  by  Great  Britain,  whose  flag  is  the 
missionary  flag  of  the  world,  is  to  see  to  it  that  in  doing  this 
great  work  there  is  equal  justice  for  all,  black  and  white,  and  the 
largest  opportunity  for  individual  and  racial  progress. 

While  the  responsibility  of  redeeming  Africa  is  placed  upon 
the  white  man,  it  is  also  evident  that  upon  that  continent  the 
black  races  of  the  world  are  to  have  their  chief  centers  and  to 
work  out   on  the  largest   scale   their   future   destinies.     It   has 


Man's 
Burden ' 


THE   OPEN    DOOR    IN    AFRICA  167 

already  been  proved  that  wherever  there  have  been  good  govern- 
ments in  Africa  the  native  peoples  increase  rapidly  in  numbers. 
In  Cape  Colony,  for  example,  with  400,000  white  people,  there 
are  more  than  2,000,000  blacks.  In  Natal  Colony,  with  only 
50,000  whites,  there  are  more  than  50,000  Indians  and  600,000 
blacks.  South  of  the  Zambesi  River,  with  only  800,000  white 
people,  there  are  more  than  8,000,000  blacks ;  while  as  I  have 
said  already,  the  whole  vast  continent  of  the  north  is  practically 
one  great  mass  of  black  humanity.  The  twentieth  century  will 
probably  see  five  or  six  hundred  millions  of  black  people  on  the 
African  continent,  and  with  the  limited  territory  where  white 
civilization  is  possible,  the  number  of  white  people  will  probably 
be  but  little  beyond  the  same  proportion  as  now. 

Another  important  fact  touching  the  open  door  in  Africa  is 
that  the  responsibility  of  the  sons  of  Japheth  for  the  government  "  The  White 
of  the  continent  carries  with  it  the  momentous  work  of  providing 
for  the  industrial,  intellectual,  and  moral  future  of  its  native 
races.  Compared  with  this  vast  work,  providentially  imposed  as 
a  part  of  "the  white  man's  burden"  upon  the  nations  now  devel- 
oping colonial  governments  in  Africa,  the  negro  problem  in 
America  is  a  national  incident  of  small  import.  In  America  nine 
tenths  of  the  negro  population  is  in  a  single  section ;  while  in 
South  Africa,  where  alone  there  is  a  large  white  population,  there 
are  eight  times  as  many  blacks  as  whites,  and  in  the  whole 
continent  there  are  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  black  people  to 
each  white  person. 

To-day  the  one  overshadowing  question  in  Africa  is  the  native 
problem.  It  presents  itself  in  acute  forms  on  every  hand.  In  The  Native 
government  the  questions  are,  To  what  extent  can  the  native  be 
recognized  as  the  citizen,  and  how  soon,  and,  how  best  can  the 
authority  of  law  be  extended  and  barbarism  be  displaced  by 
civilization,  so  that  there  will  be  a  minimum  of  hardship  to  the 
subject  races?  In  every  form  of  industry  the  problem  is  to  teach 
the  native  races  the  dignity  and  necessity  of  labor  as  a  means  to 
higher  social  and  intellectual  conditions.  No  one  thing  has  im- 
pressed me  more  during  conversations  with  many  prominent  and 
leading  men  representing  England,  Germany,  France,  and  other 
nations  who  are  face  to  face  with  these  problems  in  Africa  than 
the  manifest  seriousness  with  which  these  native  questions  are 
approached. 


Problem 


l68  THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 

Home  of  the  The  great  mass  of  the  black  races  are  to  have  their  home  on 

Sons  of  Ham  ^.j^^  African  continent,  as  certainly  as  the  sons  of  Shem  chiefly 
occupy  Asia  and  the  sons  of  Japheth  Europe  and  America.  The 
right  treatment  of  the  native  African  must  therefore  be  a  test 
of  the  character  and  efficiency  of  any  government  developing 
power  on  that  continent.  Herein  was  a  radical  defect  in  the 
constitution  of  the  late  South  African  Republic.  Paul  Krueger 
and  his  associates  made  it  a  part  of  the  fundamental  law  of  their 
little  republic  that  there  could  be  no  equality  between  the  whites 
and  the  natives  in  Church  or  State.  During  a  conversation  in 
1897  with  Mr.  Krueger  he  defended  to  me  the  attitude  of  his 
people  toward  the  negro.  On  the  other  hand,  Great  Britain,  Ger- 
many, and  France,  especially  the  first  named  government,  treats 
the  native  as  a  man  amenable  to  law  and  encourages  and 
cooperates  in  the  work  of  his  improvement  in  morals,  industry, 
and  social  conditions.  A  few  years  ago  the  Kaiser  annulled  the 
decision  of  a  court-martial  which  proposed  a  moderate  punish- 
ment for  a  German  military  officer  of  high  rank  in  Africa.  The 
crime  was  the  hanging  of  a  native  girl  for  some  trivial  offense, 
and  by  order  of  the  Kaiser  he  was  dismissed  from  the  army  and 
public  service  in  disgrace.  England  extends  the  right  of  suffrage 
to  natives  on  the  same  basis  as  to  the  whites,  and  makes  provision 
for  their  education.  In  the  late  Transvaal  Republic  the  native 
had  no  standing  before  the  law,  could  not  own  land  or  go  into 
business  on  his  own  account,  and  was  flogged  or  imprisoned  if 
found  without  his  badge  showing  he  had  paid  his  annual  license. 
The  Every  friend  of  the  native  African  ought  to  thank  God  that 

5^*^^f.^"^  °^  under  the  leading  governments  now  dominating  Africa,  and 
especially  under  English  rule,  which  is  to  be  the  greatest  factor 
in  the  affairs  of  that  continent,  the  black  man  is  to  have  a  fair 
chance.  It  has  been  said  that  in  the  eighteenth  century  the  white 
man  stole  Africans  from  Africa,  and  that  he  is  now  engaged  in 
stealing  Africa  from  the  Africans.  The  truth  of  the  first  state- 
ment cannot  be  questioned,  and  the  horrors  of  the  African  slave 
trade,  so  long  "the  open  sore  of  the  world,"  must  ever  stand  as 
the  crime  of  crimes  on  the  part  of  Christian  nations  against  the 
black  races.  In  one  sense  it  is  true  that  the  white  man  is  now 
stealing  Africa  from  the  African,  but  in  a  much  higher  sense. 
In  God's  providence,  the  white  man  in  Africa  is  to  open  the  way 
for  the  greatest  possible  good  for  the  native  multitudes  of  to-day 


THE  OPEN  DOOR  IN  AFRICA  1 69 


4 


and  the  multiplying  millions  of  the  future.  Tribal  wars  which 
periodically  devastated  sections  of  the  continent  are  now  ended. 
It  is  said  that  a  single  great  chief  in  South  Africa,  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  last  century,  was  the  cause  of  the  death  of  a  million 
natives  by  war  and  consequent  famine.  There  is  to  be  permanent 
and  well-ordered  government ;  industry  and  home  life  will  be 
encouraged,  the  right  of  property  protected,  and  the  way  opened 
for  the  Christian  school  and  church.  God  will  see  to  it  that  the 
nations  which  have  taken  the  responsibility  of  Africa  from  the 
Africans  will  do  justice  or  lose  their  power  and  place  on  that 
continent,  and  their  prestige  before  the  world. 

If  Africa  is  to  be  for  the  African  in  this  wide  and  manifestly  American 
providential  sense  it  is  easily  seen  that  the  relations  and  respon-  ^.^^ence  in 
sibilities  of  the  United  States  to  the  open  door  in  that  continent 
are  direct  and  of  imperative  import.  It  is  not  a  question  of 
territorial  possessions.  The  nearest  approach  to  this  is  the  little 
black  republic  of  Liberia,  on  the  West  Coast,  made  up  chiefly  of 
American  negroes  and  their  descendants,  and  in  this  case  it  is 
only  a  matter  of  moral  infxuence.  President  McKinley,  with 
many  others,  held  that  the  United  States  had  a  moral  obligation 
to  that  little  commonwealth  which  should  be  recognized,  and 
practical  sympathy  and  cooperation  should  be  given  when  needed. 

As  to  commerce  between  the  United  States  and  Africa,  it  will 
grow  to  marvelous  proportions,  and  the  great  republic  will  always 
be  an  umpire  in  influence,  if  not  in  actual  word,  between  the 
nations  governing  Africa.  But  the  open  door  in  Africa  means 
far  more  to  the  United  States  than  the  possession  of  territory 
or  moral  power  with  other  nationalities.  Within  our  own  border 
are  nearly  ten  million  black  people,  the  most  moral,  industrious 
group  of  negroes  on  the  earth.  The  good  which  this  mass  of 
black  humanity  inherits  as  the  result  of  three  hundred  years  of 
tutelage  in  slavery  and  freedom  cannot  be  made  an  apology'  for 
the  African  slave  trade,  but  only  demonstrates  again,  as  has  been 
done  many  times  in  history,  that  God  is  saving  this  world  in  spite 
of  men's  wickedness. 

This  Africa  in  America  has  a  peculiarly  providential  relation   American 
to  Africa  beyond  the  seas,  and  American  negro  leadership  in  Leadership 
Africa  is  one  of  the  divine  calls  of  the  hour.     Here  is  a  very  im- 
portant part  of  the  answer  to  the  splendid  results  achieved  since 
the  war  in  the  education  of  black  men  and  women  in  our  Southern 


I70 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


A  Freedmau's 

Heart 

Utterance 


A  Mother's 
Yearning 


States.  But  just  as  the  white  man  and  governments  are  re- 
sponsible for  the  well-being  of  the  black  races  in  Africa,  so  the 
white  man  of  America  must  go  hand  in  hand  with  his  brother 
black  man  at  home  in  plans  and  faith  and  sacrifice  for  the  re- 
demption of  Africa  beyond  the  seas. 

Years  ago,  just  after  the  civil  war,  I  spoke  to  an  immense 
audience  of  freedmen  in  Galveston,  Texas,  and  sought  to  inspire 
them  with  hopefulness  as  to  their  future  and  spoke  of  the  mission 
of  the  great  republic  and  of  the  Christian  Church  to  give  them 
and  their  children  the  Christian  school,  the  church,  and  a  fair 
chance  in  the  race  of  life.  After  having  taken  my  seat  a  tall 
black  man  arose  in  the  rear  part  of  the  audience  and  slowly  made 
his  way  through  the  crowd  toward  the  front.  An  influence  of 
profound  expectancy  pervaded  the  audience,  and  as  the  old  man 
made  his  way  there  was  perfect  quiet.  I  learned  afterward  that 
he  had  been  stolen  from  Africa  when  a  boy  and  brought  to 
America  in  one  of  the  sailing  slavers  which  occasionally  found 
their  way  to  the  Gulf  coast  long  after  the  general  abolition  of  the 
slave  trade.  At  last  he  reached  the  platform,  and  after  hesitating 
a  moment  he  stepped  upon  it  and  stood  before  me  trembling  with 
emotion.  At  last,  as  if  not  knowing  what  else  to  do,  he  fell  on 
his  knees  before  me  and  extending  his  arms  looked  into  my  face, 
while  the  tears  flowed  down  his  cheeks.  He  said,  "O,  where  did 
you  come  from  ?  I  shall  never  forget  you  as  long  as  I  live,  and 
every  day  the  sun  rises  I  shall  pray  for  you  while  God  gives  me 
breath."  His  head  fell  into  my  lap,  and  he  sobbed  like  a  child. 
The  blessed  heart  experiences  and  inspiration  which  came  to  my 
life  during  the  twenty-six  years  I  was  permitted  to  give  to  God's 
poor  in  the  Southern  States  I  can  never  sufficiently  thank  God 
for.  Now  I  find  myself  among  a  vastly  greater  black  multitude 
on  the  continent  of  Africa,  commissioned  by  the  Church  to  take 
to  them  the  same  Gospel  which  I  preached  to  the  freedmen  and 
their  successors  in  the  South,  and  I  meet  the  same  heart  appeals 
and  cries  for  the  truth  of  God.  One  day  in  1897,  during  my  first 
episcopal  tour  in  Angola,  as  the  hammock  carriers  bore  me  along 
the  narrow  path  at  the  head  of  my  caravan,  I  heard  the  cry  of  a 
woman.  At  my  request  the  carrier  stopped,  and  getting  out  of 
my  hammock  I  saw  in  a  little  opening  of  the  grass  beside  the 
path  a  native  woman  with  her  arms  outstretched  toward  the 
heavens,  crying  as  if  her  heart  would  break.    Through  an  inter- 


THE   OPEN    DOOR    IN    AFRICA  I7I 

i 

preter  I  asked  what  was  the  matter,  and  she  told  me  this  story: 
"My  baby  died  last  night.  I  don't  know  w^here  it  is,  and  I  am 
afraid  I  shall  never  find  it  again."  Ashes  had  been  thrown  upon 
her  head  and  had  fallen  down  upon  her  person,  for  among  these 
natives  there  are  some  Jewish  customs — among  the  rest,  sack- 
cloth or  ashes  in  time  of  sorrow.  I  told  her  about  Jesus,  who 
w'as  born  a  baby  and  grew  to  be  a  man  and  who  was  God  on 
earth,  and  who  died  to  save  her  and  her  baby,  and  that  her  child 
was  with  him  now,  and  that,  if  she  would  love  Jesus  and  serve 
him,  after  a  while  she  would  go  to  her  baby  and  never  lose  it 
again.  She  looked  at  me  at  first  with  amazement  and  fear,  but 
seeing  the  kind  expression  of  my  face  she  fell  upon  her  face 
before  me  and  clasped  my  feet  in  her  arms  and  wept  as  if  her 
heart  would  break,  I  bade  her  arise.  She  had  been  selling  some 
bananas  and  other  native  fruits  to  passers-by  that  she  might  make 
a  few  pennies  to  pay  the  funeral  expenses  of  her  baby.  I  bought 
all  that  she  had,  paying  several  times  the  value,  and  then  she 
said,  "I  must  go  quickly  and  tell  my  people  of  the  white  man 
from  afar  and  what  he  has  said  about  Jesus  and  about  my  finding 
my  baby  again."  We  were  journeying  along  the  hillside,  and  in 
the  distance  on  the  plains  I  could  see  several  native  towns,  and 
as  the  woman  made  her  way  I  praised  God  that  I  was  permitted 
to  preach  the  Gospel  to  her  and  to  give  her  a  word  of  comfort  in 
the  hour  of  her  heart  sorrow. 

A  gentleman  said  a  day  or  two  ago  in  my  hearing :  "Hartzell  A  Large 
ought  to  be  an  expert  on  the  negro.  He  used  to  come  to  us  in  ^^^®° 
the  North  and  plead  for  the  freedman  of  the  South,  and  now  he 
comes  and  speaks  with  the  same  enthusiasm  of  the  greater  masses 
in  Africa."  I  do  not  know  whether  that  was  intended  as  a  com- 
pliment or  not,  and  neither  do  I  care,  but  after  I  heard  the  remark 
my  thoughts  ran  back  through  the  years  I  have  given  to  our 
Southern  land  and  there  came  rushing  over  me  the  pathos,  the 
sympathy,  and  the  ambitions  and  plans  of  those  years  during 
which  it  was  my  lot  to  help  in  laying  the  foundations  of  civil  and 
religious  institutions  in  the  Southern  States  after  the  dreadful 
war.  Whatever  word  I  may  have  spoken  or  influence  exerted  in 
bringing  to  the  heart  of  the  Church  and  nation  the  needs  of  those 
people  and  their  necessities  I  thank  God  for.  To-day  a  larger 
burden  rests  upon  me,  and  I  somehow  feel  that  my  work  in  the 
South,   especially   on   editorial   and   educational   lines,    was   the 


172 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


The  Answer 
of  the  Church 


A  Great 
Continent 
Scarcely 
Touched 


The  Cost  in 
Lives 


school  in  which  I  was  being  prepared  for  my  work  in  greater 
Africa. 

I  come  now  to  the  most  important  part  of  my  address.  What 
is  to  be  the  answer  of  the  Christian  Church  to  this  wide-open 
door  in  Africa?  Opportunities  to  the  Christian  Church  mean 
responsibihties  which  cannot  be  ignored  without  losing  the  bless- 
ing of  God.  The  only  thing  that  seems  to  lag  in  that  vast  field 
is  the  Christian  Church.  No  matter  how  many  millions  of  dollars 
are  needed  to  build  a  railroad,  open  and  equip  a  mine,  organize  a 
new  colony,  build  docks  or  dredge  harbors,  float  a  score  of  steam- 
ships or  explore  new  regions,  the  word  has  only  to  be  spoken  in 
London  or  Paris  or  Berlin  or  Hamburg  or  New  York,  and  they 
are  forthcoming. 

Something  is  being  done  by  the  Church  in  Africa.  There  are 
forty  missionary  societies  at  work,  and  at  some  centers,  consider- 
ing the  difficulties,  good  work  has  been  accomplished  among  the 
natives.  It  must  also  be  remembered  that  in  the  great  European 
centers,  like  Cape  Town  and  Johannesburg,  there  are  churches 
and  schools  and  philanthropic  efforts  among  the  white  people. 
But  the  great  continent  has  scarcely  been  touched  by  the  Christian 
Church.  In  North  Africa  it  has  been  estimated  there  is  only  one 
Protestant  missionary  to  a  hundred  and  twenty-five  thousand 
Mohammedans;  in  Sahara,  one  Protestant  missionary  to  two 
million  five  hundred  thousand  Mohammedans  and  pagans ;  in 
Sudan,  one  Protestant  missionary  to  forty-five  million  Moham- 
medans and  pagans ;  in  West  Africa,  one  Protestant  missionary 
to  thirty  thousand  pagans ;  in  Central  Africa,  eighty  thousand 
pagans  to  one  missionary ;  and  in  South  Africa,  one  mission- 
ary to  fourteen  thousand  pagans.  Think  of  it,  in  the  great  heart 
of  the  continent  one  lone  Protestant  missionary  to  forty-five 
millions  of  pagans  and  Mohammedans !  The  Christian  Church 
as  a  whole  has  not  yet  taken  Africa  seriously  to  heart.  No  land 
has  had  more  heroic  men  and  women.  Six  hundred  have  laid 
down  their  lives  for  the  exploration  of  the  continent,  and  the  price 
already  paid  for  Africa,  in  the  lives  of  missionaries,  has  been 
great ;  but  still  the  deaths  of  missionaries  in  Africa  are  only  a 
small  per  cent  of  the  number  of  deaths  among  the  tens  of  thou- 
sands who  flock  to  that  continent  to  make  money,  study  science, 
or  for  fame  or  wealth  in  government  or  commerce.  The  chief 
work  of  Methodism  in  Africa  up  to  date  has  been  that  of  the 


THE    OPEN    DOOR    IX    AFRICA  I73 

Weslcyan  Cliurch  in  South  Africa  and  on  the  West  -Coast. 
The  work  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  has  been  in  no  way 
commensurate  with  her  wealth  in  her  workers  and  money  and  her 
responsibilities  before  God. 

Six  years  ago  last  May  the  Church,  through  the  General  Con-  A  Plea  for 
ference,  sent  me  to  Africa.  At  first  the  work  was  one  of  explora-  sympathy" 
tion  and  study,  as  related  to  the  scattered  work  we  had  and  the 
centers  where  our  work  should  be  made  permanent.  My  last 
tour,  just  completed,  has  been  in  many  respects  the  most 
thorough,  having  visited  every  center  on  both  coasts  and  organ- 
ized two  Mission  Conferences,  one  in  the  east  and  one  in  the  west, 
to  include  all  of  the  work  outside  of  the  old  Liberia  Conference. 
Now  we  have  our  centers  fixed,  and  I  can  speak  from  definite 
knowledge ;  and  through  this  great  Convention  my  plea  to  the 
Church  is  that  Africa  and  its  redemption  be  taken  seriously  to 
heart.  I  have  had  and  am  having  plenty  of  sympathy,  but  I  must 
have  something  more.  Our  missionary  workers  in  Africa  have 
the  sympathy  of  many  thousands,  but  tliey  must  have  something 
more.  They  must  have  buildings  and  church  and  school  equip- 
ments, their  personal  necessities  must  be  met,  and  we  must  have 
the  means  to  send  out  reinforcements  not  only  to  strengthen  the 
work  we  have,  but  to  hearken  to  some  of  the  pitiful  calls  which 
come  to  us  from  the  regions  beyond. 

Let  us  begin  with  Liberia,  that  little  black  republic  born  out  Liberia 
of  philanthropic  plans  of  good  Americans  a  hundred  years  ago. 
Their  motives  were  different.  Some  thought  to  benefit  slavery 
by  the  removal  of  free  negroes  from  the  South,  and  others  had 
different  views,  but  all  felt  that  in  the  end  Liberia  would  be  a 
center  where  American  negroes  could  better  their  condition  and 
inaugurate  a  movement  toward  the  evangelization  of  the  conti- 
nent. All  that  was  anticipated  has  not  been  realized,  but  the  little 
nation  lives  and  is  recognized  and  protected  by  the  great  nations 
of  the  world.  Its  territory  extends  three  hundred  and  fifty  miles 
along  the  coast  and  two  hundred  and  fifty  miles  into  the  interior, 
and  is  one  of  the  richest  sections  of  the  West  Coast.  A  new 
era  seems  to  have  dawned  commercially  upon  the  republic.  A 
charter  has  been  granted  to  a  large  English  company  to  explore 
and  develop  its  agricultural  and  mineral  wealth  and  increase  its 
general  commerce.  It  was  in  Liberia  that  our  first  foreign  mis- 
sion was  established  in   1833,  when  Melville  B.  Cox  so  quickly 


174 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


An 

Encouraging 

Outlook 


Self-support 


and  joyfully  laid  down  his  life,  having  asked  that  on  his  tomb- 
stone should  be  written,  "Though  a  thousand  fall,  let  not  Africa 
be  given  up."  The  history  of  our  Liberia  Mission  is  a  checkered 
one  of  mingled  victory  and  defeat,  and  some  day  must  be  written 
by  a  wise  historian.  The  best  news  that  I  have  to  give  you  from 
Liberia  is  that  a  new  spirit  of  helpfulness  and  aggressiveness  is 
taking  possession  of  that  Conference.  We  have  about  one  hun- 
dred workers,  including  ministers  and  laymen,  who  are  appointed 
each  year  to  districts,  schools,  churches,  and  missions.  I  held  the 
last  Conference  at  Grand  Bassa  a  few  months  ago,  in  a  new 
brick  church  that  cost  four  thousand  dollars  and  which  was  built 
by  the  people  themselves  except  what  I  gave  them  for  the  win- 
dows and  roof.  When  the  trustees  presented  the  church  to  me 
for  dedication  there  was  a  debt  of  six  hundred  dollars  due  the 
Hon.  J.  C.  Somerville,  vice  president  of  the  republic  and  one  of 
the  trustees.  He  handed  me  a  receipt  in  full,  so  there  was  no 
debt.  It  was  a  joyful  day  to  us,  and  I  scarcely  ever  have  attended 
a  more  enthusiastic  Conference  session.  The  same  town  and 
neighborhood  has  subscribed  two  thousand  dollars  toward  a  high 
school  building.  In  Monrovia,  the  capital,  we  have  our  strongest 
church.  It  is  also  the  best  one  in  the  republic.  It  is  self-support- 
ing, and  besides  giving  two  thousand  dollars  toward  the  enlarge- 
ment of  our  college  building  it  is  building  a  two-thousand-dollar 
parsonage.  Other  churches  among  the  Americo-Liberians  are 
becoming  self-supporting,  and  my  word  to  them  is  that  my  first 
mission  in  Liberia  is  to  teach  them  how  to  help  themselves.  We 
have  our  College  of  West  Africa  located  at  the  capital,  and 
twenty-nine  primary  schools  in  different  parts  of  the  republic. 
We  have  our  printing  press  and  outfit,  for  which  I  have  raised 
the  money  and  which  is  worth  six  thousand  dollars.  Here  we 
print  The  New  Africa,  a  thirty-two-page  monthly,  Sunday  school 
literature  and  tracts  and  songs  in  several  native  languages.  A 
very  important  part  of  our  Liberia  work  is  included  in  the  purely 
native  stations.  At  one  Conference  T  asked  a  native  teacher  to 
rise  and  sing  "Come  to  Jesus,"  and  then  I  asked  another  who 
taught  in  a  different  language  to  rise  and  sing  the  same,  and  so 
on  until  six  different  teachers  working  among  many  different 
tribes  and  using  as  many  different  dialects  had  sung  "Come  to 
Jesus."  Then  I  asked  the  whole  Conference  and  all  others  who 
could  speak  English  to  sing  the  same  blessed  words.     Then  at 


THE   OPEN    DOOR    IN    AFRICA  175 

my  request  everybody  arose  together  and  all  sang  "Cwne  to 
Jesus,"  each  using  his  own  language.  That  mingling  of  races 
and  languages  in  Christian  song  was  to  me  a  prophecy  of  the 
time  when  all  races  and  all  tongues  in  that  vast  continent  shall 
come  to  Jesus  with  joyful  hallelujahs ! 

This  work  in  Liberia  is  in  great  need.  Scarcely  anything  has  property  and 
been  done  for  many  years  in  building,  and  many  of  our  mission  Workers 
stations  are  unfit  for  habitation,  and  yet  our  brave  workers  patch 
up  the  roofs  and  prop  up  the  sides  and  get  through  the  rainy 
season  as  best  they  can.  We  are  short  of  workers  for  the  stations 
we  have,  and  have  been  compelled  to  abandon  many  of  them  and 
center  at  the  principal  ones.  And  then  what  of  the  vast  regions 
beyond?  I  sent  one  missionary  a  journey  seven  days  into  the 
interior,  and  the  stories  he  brought  of  healthful  valleys  and  plains 
and  of  fine  types  of  negroes  who  had  never  seen  a  white  man 
stirred  my  soul.  But  what  could  I  do  ?  That  missionary  was  com- 
pelled to  come  home,  and  I  have  not  sufficient  force  to  man  even 
the  station  from  which  he  started.  Among  the  natives  he  found 
those  who  were  making  brass  bells  and  rings  and  chains  and  who 
were  workers  in  iron  and  had  wealth  in  ivory  and  cattle,  but  they 
knew  not  the  value  of  money,  and  the  only  way  to  trade  with  them 
was  by  exchange  in  goods.  O,  how  long  must  the  work  in 
Liberia  be  practically  confined  to  the  most  unhealthy  coast  region 
and  the  vast  open  doors  beyond  be  neglected?  If  I  had  five  thou- 
sand dollars  to  establish  an  industrial  mission  a  hundred  miles 
from  the  coast  it  would  soon  support  itself. 

Down  the  coast  past  the  mouth  of  the  great  Congo  River  we  Angola 
reach  St.  Paul  de  Loanda,  the  oldest  city  on  the  West  Coast,  with 
five  thousand  Portuguese  and  thirty-five  thousand  natives.  The 
view  from  the  harbor  is  beautiful.  The  city  is  divided  into  two 
portions,  a  part  lying  along  the  beach  and  the  greater  portion 
extending  upon  a  high  plateau  in  the  rear.  In  plain  view  is  the 
National  Observatory,  the  Ocean  Cable  Station,  a  great  hospital, 
the  colonial  and  city  buildings,  the  governor's  residence,  and  the 
parks  and  shady  avenues.  On  one  of  the  most  beautiful  points 
of  the  high  ground  stand  our  two  mission  buildings,  surrounded 
by  the  mission  grounds.  One  of  these  was  built  by  Bishop  Taylor 
and  afifords  good  room  for  church  and  Sunday  school  services  in 
the  basement  and  provides  for  a  school  of  one  hundred  and  fifty 
in  the  upper  story.    The  other  building  I  have  recently  purchased 


176 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


A  Line  of 

Mission 

Stations 


Madeira 
Islands 


at  an  expense  of  five  thousand  dollars.  The  cost  to  build  it  was 
over  twelve  thousand  dollars.  This  added  a  home  for  our  mis- 
sionaries and  a  fine  place  for  our  girls'  dormitory.  This  great 
center  has  been  practically  unoccupied  for  ten  years  for  lack  of 
workers  and  money,  but  I  have  taken  the  responsibility  of  buying 
the  property  and  opening  the  work.  It  had  to  be  done.  It  is  the 
key  to  our  West  Central  Africa  Mission  Conference,  where  we 
have  a  territory  of  nearly  four  hundred  thousand  square  miles 
among  a  choice  class  of  natives.  Extending  out  three  hundred 
miles  to  Malange,  we  have  our  other  four  central  stations,  and 
besides  these  we  have  smaller  stations  under  the  care  of  native 
preachers.  This  work  had  been  thoroughly  organized.  We  have 
a  well-equipped  mission  press  at  Quiongua,  and  are  publishing 
the  Scriptures,  tracts,  a  four-page  paper,  and  will  soon  publish 
a  series  of  text-books  for  our  native  schools.  We  have  two  in- 
dustrial schools  which  are  self-supporting  and  which  aid  largely 
in  building.  One  school  built  a  good  native  church  and  made 
the  furniture,  and  is  now  building  a  schoolhouse  at  Quiongua. 
The  other  school  is  helping  to  build  at  Quessua.  The  Kimbundu 
language  of  these  people  is  one  of  the  best  in  Africa.  This  Con- 
ference needs  at  least  six  new  workers  at  once  to  maintain  it  with 
efficiency  as  it  is,  and  there  is  need  of  a  few  thousand  dollars  to 
be  put  into  inexpensive  buildings  at  several  points.  And  then 
what  of  the  regions  beyond?  Gradually  a  highway  is  being 
opened  up  for  commerce  in  a  vast  section  vi^here  there  are  no 
missionaries,  and  where  the  voice  of  God  has  been  calling  for 
thousands  of  years  to  the  Christian  Church.  When  can  I  have  a 
single  man  with  intellectual  and  moral  grip  sufficient  to  enter  that 
open  door? 

And  then  take  the  Madeira  Islands,  that  beautiful  spot  where 
God  has  opened  up  the  work  to  us  so  marvelously  among  the 
Portuguese.  The  city  of  Funchal  and  its  suburbs  have  sixty  thou- 
sand people,  and  on  a  single  island  there  are  as  many  more.  Over 
them  has  been  the  rule  of  Roman  Catholic  Jesuitism  for  four 
hundred  years.  While  no  one  shall  go  beyond  me  in  the  apprecia- 
tion of  the  good  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  is  doing,  still  it  must 
be  said  that  Roman  Catholic  Jesuitism  is  an  organized  conspiracy 
against  the  civil  and  religious  liberty  of  the  world.  Sixty  years 
ago  a  Scotch  Presbyterian  physician  did  a  remarkable  work 
among  these  Portuguese  Roman  Catholics.    Besides  his  work  as  a 


THE    OPEN    DOOR    IN    AFRICA  1/7 

physician,  he  had  schools  and  taught  the  people  to  read  tlu^  Bible 
in  their  own  tongue.  Twelve  or  fifteen  hundred  became  Protes- 
tants in  the  course  of  a  few  years,  and  insisted  en  reading  the  Bible 
themselves  and  worshiping  God  according  to  the  dictates  of  their 
own  consciences.  A  great  persecution  arose,  and  the  day  was 
fixed  when  Dr.  Kalley,  the  missionary,  and  all  his  followers  were 
to  be  exterminated.  On  that  very  day,  while  the  signal  bell  was 
being  sounded  in  the  tower  of  the  cathedral,  God  sent  an  English 
ship  into  the  harbor,  and  the  leader,  disguised  in  clothing  as  a 
sick  woman,  was  carried  in  a  hammock  to  the  beach  and  ship  by 
men  who  would  have  murdered  him  had  they  known  who  he  was. 
All  the  Protestants,  it  was  thought,  were  driven  from  the  island. 
But  a  little  precious  seed  remained,  and  only  a  short  distance 
from  where  Dr.  Kalley  had  his  wonderful  work  in  the  mountains 
we  have  our  Mount  Faith  Mission,  with  nearly  fifty  men  and  Mount  Faith 
women  recently  converted  and  who  testify  to  God's  love,  and  as 
many  more  youth  in  our  Sunday  and  day  schools.  Down  in  the 
city,  opposite  a  beautiful  park,  we  have  our  church  house.  The 
Roman  Catholic  owner  told  me  that  he  would  rent  it  to  us  because 
he  believed  in  religious  toleration  for  all.  In  the  basement  we 
have  our  Sailors'  Rest,  and  I  have  secured  the  cooperation  of  the 
sailors'  societies  in  London  and  New  York  to  help  in  that  work- 
We  have  regular  Portuguese  services,  and  have  published  a  hand- 
book of  Methodist  Episcopal  doctrines  and  hymns  in  Portuguese. 
We  have  here  a  place  where  our  sick  missionaries  can  go  and 
recuperate,  and  this  is  my  home  as  far  as  I  can  have  an  episcopal 
residence.  Nearly  two  thousand  ships  of  various  kinds  anchor 
in  that  harbor  every  year  in  their  passing  from  Europe  to  South 
America  and  Africa.  In  four  years  the  results  of  this  work  have 
been  most  encouraging,  and  near  by  are  other  islands  of  large 
populations  where  Protestantism  has  open  doors.  I  have  had  only 
five  hundred  dollars  of  mission  money  each  year  for  this  work. 
The  remainder  of  the  annual  expense  of  three  thousand  dollars 
and  over  to  maintain  five  missionaries,  build  and  equip  our  build- 
ings at  Mount  Faith,  has  been  raised  among  friends. 

On  the  southeast  coast  of  the  continent  we  have  two  centers,   six  Native 
One  is  at  Inhambane,  where  five  years  ago  we  had  one  missionary,  j^^^^^^bane 
one  native  station,  and  a  few  native  members.     Now  we  have  six 
native  stations  with  hundreds  of  members  and  calls  from  many 
directions  for  workers  in  a  population  of  several  million.     Here 
13 


178 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


Beira 


Bhodesia 


Large 

Property 

Holdings 


we  have  another  press  and  outfit  and  are  printing  a  series  of 
text-books  for  the  native  schools,  religious  tracts,  and  a  large 
amount  of  work  is  being  done  in  the  translation  of  the  Scriptures. 
We  must  have  at  least  four  new  missionaries  for  this  center.  Our 
schools  for  boys  and  girls  must  have  buildings.  At  no  other  point 
of  our  work  in  Africa  can  so  much  be  done  for  the  same  amount 
of  money. 

Two  hundred  and  fifty  miles  up  the  coast  is  Beira,  the  east 
ocean  port  for  all  Rhodesia.  It  is  already  a  city  of  several  thou- 
sand people.  Here  are  European  whites,  Indians,  Chinese,  and 
great  numbers  of  natives.  For  three  years  I  have  hoped  that  the 
way  would  be  open  to  send  a  man  to  this  point.  We  must  occupy 
it.  It  is  the  ocean  key  to  all  our  work  in  East  Africa,  but  I  have 
not  had  the  money,  although  the  work  could  be  made  self-sup- 
porting after  the  first  or  second  year.  Two  hundred  miles  by 
rail  brings  us  to  the  mountainous  table-lands  of  eastern  Rhodesia, 
with  Umtali  for  the  first  center  of  European  population,  in  the 
midst  of  a  vast  gold-bearing  and  agricultural  section.  In  October 
of  1897  I  rode  into  this  town,  drenched  with  rain  and  covered 
with  mud,  and  as  I  looked  upon  its  beautiful  situation  and  sur- 
roundings I  said,  "Here  is  to  be  the  chief  center  of  x\merican 
Methodist  missions  in  East  Africa."  I  cannot  go  into  details, 
but  as  the  result  of  correspondence  and  many  interviews  with 
representatives  of  the  British  South  Africa  Company  in  Rhodesia 
and  England  and  many  a  wearying  journey  relating  to  property 
titles  and  other  necessary  matters,  and  also  representation  to  the 
Church  at  home,  securing  money  and  workers,  I  was  permitted, 
with  my  heart  overflowing  with  gratitude  to  God,  November  16, 
1901,  to  organize  the  East  Central  Africa  Mission  Conference  at 
Umtali.  It  was  a  great  event  for  that  section  of  the  continent. 
It  was  the  founding  of  a  new  spiritual  empire,  another  section  of 
our  world-wide  Methodism.  There  were  present  eighteen  picked 
white  men  and  women  from  America.  The  acquisition  of  prop- 
erty had  been  remarkable.  The  chief  single  gift  was  thirteen 
thousand  acres  of  land  with  buildings  worth  seventy  thousand 
dollars  in  a  beautiful  valley  ten  miles  from  the  town  and  rail- 
road, where  we  are  developing  a  great  industrial  native  station, 
and  where  already  good  progress  has  been  made  in  the  mastery 
of  languages,  in  the  development  of  a  farm  and  mechanical  shops, 
and  gathering  herds  of  stock,  opening  schools,  and  doing  evan- 


THE   OPEN    DOOR    IN    AFRICA  179 

gelical  work  among  the  neighboring,  native  towns.  In  the  tillage 
of  Unitah  our  native  work  is  having  remarkable  progress.  We 
already  have  one  self-supporting  church  where  the  people  support 
their  preacher  and  teacher,  and  lands  have  been  secured  in  several 
towns  in  the  vicinity  where,  in  a  few  months,  we  will  have  other 
churches  filled  with  interested  and  anxious  worshipers.  The 
present  force  on  the  field  can  organize  these  churches,  but  I  must 
have  one  or  two  more  good  missionaries  to  take  charge  of  this 
enlarging  work  and  to  teach  native  helpers  and  prepare  them  as 
quickly  as  possible  for  permanent  service.  In  the  Umtali  native 
church  over  sixty  have  been  converted  within  the  past  six  months. 

In  this  center  we  have  our  first  development  among  the  Euro-  Work  among 
pean  and  African  white  people  of  the  continent.  These  are  made  *^®  Whites 
up  of  people  connected  with  railroads,  government  officials,  and 
those  engaged  in  commerce,  mining,  and  agriculture.  Most  of 
these  have  emigrated  from  Europe  and  other  countries,  but  a 
good  percentage  are  Africanders,  born  and  reared  in  Cape  Colony 
or  other  sections  of  Africa.  Within  a  few  miles  are  gold-mining 
centers,  so  that  altogether  in  that  section  there  are  now,  perhaps, 
fifteen  hundred  white  people,  and  their  number  will  increase 
rapidly  now  that  the  war  is  over,  and  great  plans  are  being  in- 
augurated for  the  development  of  South  Africa. 

Among  these  people  we  have  a  self-supporting  academy.     We  Umtali 
secured  a  property  that  cost  thirty-one  thousand  dollars  for  half  ^c^^^my 
that  sum.    The  government  gave  five  thousand  dollars  and  loaned 
us  the  balance  at  five  per  cent  interest  until  we  could  raise  it.    We 
have  a  hundred  pupils  and  five  departments,  Kindergarten,  Music, 
Primary,  Intermediate,  and  High  School.     We  have  four  teach- 
ers.    The  government  also  pays  one  half  the  salaries  of  the 
teachers  and  one  half  the  expenses  of  equipping  the  schools.    The 
tuition  pays  the  other  half,  so  that  we  have  this  splendid  property 
and  this  flourishing  school  without  the  use  of  a  dollar  of  mission- 
ary money.    Here,  as  the  population  increases,  will  be  our  future 
college  and  Christian  training  school.     We  have  also  organized 
the    St.   Andrew's    Methodist   Episcopal   Church,   our   first    for   st.  Andrew's 
European  and  African  white  people  on  the  continent.    The  corner  Methodist 
stone  of  a  ten-thousand-dollar  church  has  been  laid.    The  Masonic 
fraternity,  with  a  large  company  of  other  citizens,  participated  in 
the  ceremonies.    Seventy-five  hundred  dollars  of  the  expense  will 
be  provided  for  on  the  ground,  and  I  have  assumed  the  balance 


i8o 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


A  Forward 
Look 


Episcopal 
Touring  of 
the  Continent 


of  twenty-five  hundred  dollars.  On  reaching  the  East  Coast  in 
a  few  months  I  will  dedicate  this  church,  together  with  three  or 
four  native  churches.  This  new  Conference  includes  all  our 
work  on  the  East  Coast,  and  is  certainly  a  phenomenal  beginning 
in  so  brief  a  time,  where  five  years  ago  we  had  nothing  but  the 
little  start  at  Inhambane.  Our  property,  not  counting  the  thirteen 
thousand  acres  of  land,  the  value  of  which  is  sure  to  be  great  in 
the  near  future,  is  worth  over  one  hundred  thousand  dollars. 
Where  has  there  been  a  more  providential  or  remarkable  develop- 
ment in  a  single  mission  field  in  our  time? 

And  now  stand  with  me  for  a  moment  on  the  summit  of  a 
mountain  five  thousand  feet  above  the  sea  in  the  midst  of  our 
large  industrial  mission  estate,  and  contemplate  the  open  doors 
north,  south,  east,  and  west  where  there  are  great  centers  of 
black  populations  as  yet  untouched  with  the  Gospel  of  Christ. 
Concessions  of  land  are  ofifered,  the  native  chiefs  are  calling  for 
"book  religion,"  and  the  governments  are  friendly.  It  is  the  op- 
portune moment.  Especially  as  I  look  northward,  and  know 
that  as  the  result  of  consultations  with  government  officials,  all 
of  whom  are  friendly  to  Christian  missions,  a  large  concession 
of  land  can  be  secured  near  the  very  heart  of  the  continent,  near 
by  or  through  which  will  pass  the  railway  which,  in  a  few  years, 
will  connect  with  the  road  from  Cairo  at  Khartoum,  O,  how  my 
heart  longs  to  secure  that  great  central  location !  I  know  that 
my  years  in  Africa  will  be  too  few  to  develop  it,  but  it  will  remain 
as  a  heritage  of  faith  and  possibilities  to  my  successor  and  his 
associates ! 

Six  years  ago  I  started  to  Africa  scarcely  knowing  whither  I 
went.  The  first  tour  of  exploration  and  study  required  over 
thirty-five  thousand  miles  of  travel,  some  of  it  under  most  difficult 
conditions  as  to  climate,  sickness,  and  modes  of  transportation. 
Subsequent  tours  have  enabled  me  to  organize  the  work,  to  un- 
derstand its  needs,  to  realize  the  heroism  of  our  missionaries  on 
the  field,  and  to  know  how  great  the  need  for  large  reinforce- 
ments. More  than  this,  the  map  of  the  continent  of  Africa,  with 
its  systems  of  rivers  and  lakes,  its  mountains,  its  plateaus,  its 
developing  cities,  its  great  commercial  enterprises,  its  mining 
and  agricultural  possibilities,  its  steamship  lines  belting  its  coasts 
over  and  over  again,  its  governments  facing  vast  responsibilities, 
and  its  multiplying  millions  of  natives  with  the  infinite  pathos 


THE   OPEN    DOOR    IN    SOUTHERN    ASIA  t8i 

of  their  moral  condition — all  this  has  been  burned  into  niy  very 
soul,  and  if  I  could  have  a  thousand  tongues  and  each  of  them 
could  be  inspired  with  the  faith  of  the  prophets  of  old,  all  should 
be  dedicated  to  pleading  for  that  continent.  O  Africa,  for  thee  I 
pray,  for  thee  I  plead,  and,  if  need  be,  for  thee  I  die ! 


THE    OPEN    DOOR    IN    SOUTHERN    ASIA 

Bishop   J.    M.    Thoburn 
Southern  Asia,  when  we  use  the  term  geographically,  in-  What 


Southern  Asia 
Includes 


eludes  all  that  part  of  Asia  south  of  the  Himalaya  Mountains.  It 
also  includes  all  those  countries  that  border  upon  the  Indian 
Ocean  and  the  Bay  of  Bengal,  and  I  might  include  the  Chinese 
Sea.  I  mean  all  those  countries  north  of  the  equator  bordering 
upon  those  bodies  of  water.  It  includes  about  one  half  of  Arabia. 
In  popular  usage  it  includes  southern  Persia ;  but  we  do  not  add 
to  it  any  of  that  part  of  Asia  that  borders  upon  the  Pacific  Ocean. 
When  we  use  the  term  according  to  our  usage  in  the  Missionary 
Society  we  take  in  nearly  all  of  the  territory  which  I  have  desig- 
nated. We  once  had  a  Methodist  society  with  a  local  preacher  in. 
Arabia,  at  the  port  of  Aden ;  but  as  Aden,  with  all  the  coasts  of 
the  Persian  Gulf  up  to  its  head,  is  now  recognized  as  under  the 
Indian  government,  that  is  included  in  our  territory.  Then  all  of 
India  proper  is  in  our  field,  including  what  we  used  to  call  in  our 
geographies  Beluchistan,  nearly  all  of  which  is  practically  part 
of  the  British  Indian  empire.  It  includes  Burma,  it  includes 
Siam,  it  includes  the  Malay  Peninsula,  all  the  great  Malaysian 
Islands,  and,  as  you  heard  to-day,  the  Philippines. 

In  this  great  territory  we  have  an  immense  population,  aggre-  india  a 
gating  something  over  three  hundred  and  fifty  million  of  people.  3?°*.^^'"  °' 
Next  to  China  it  stands  first  among  the  great  peoples  of  this 
world.  We  have  witnessed  a  very  wide  extension  of  our  mission 
field.  It  commenced  at  a  very  early  period  in  our  Methodist  his- 
tory, and  has  advanced  somewhat  rapidly  since.  It  now  includes 
what  might  be  called,  from  the  religious  point  of  view,  a  key 
position,  so  far  as  the  rest  of  Asia  is  concerned.  India  has  been 
to  an  important  degree  a  mother  of  religions.  A  missionary  peo- 
ple live  there.  She  has  borrowed  very  little  from  her  neighbors, 
and  she  has  given  a  great  deal  to  them.     The  early  Brahman 


1 82 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


Why  Go  So 
Far  Afield 


"Work  in 

Twenty-eight 

Languages 


leaders  were  missionaries,  and  Brahnianisni,  at  least  in  its  early 
days,  was  a  missionary  religion.  It  has  ceased  to  be  such  now. 
And  then  the  more  corrupt  bodies  that  now  bear  the  name  of 
Hinduism,  they  also  were  a  missionary  people  in  early  days,  and 
the  ruins  of  their  temples  are  found  in  the  Malaysian  Islands  to- 
day. Next  the  Buddhists  arose,  and  India,  through  her  Buddhist 
missionaries,  gave  a  religion  to  China  and  Japan,  but  never  bor- 
rowed anything  from  those  countries.  Her  Buddhist  notions  have 
penetrated  not  only  into  Persia  and  western  Asia,  but  to  a  remark- 
able extent,  I  think,  in  some  parts  of  these  United  States.  India 
promises,  as  you  might  have  gathered  from  what  Bishop  Hartzell 
said,  to  furnish  an  important  missionary  agency  in  the  evangeli- 
zation of  Africa  at  a  future  day,  for  some  of  our  Christians  are 
moving  over  there  now,  and  we  have  had  a  local  preacher  in  the 
town  of  Zanzibar  for  a  good  many  years. 

Some  one  will  be  prepared  to  ask  why  we  have  gone  afield  so 
far.  "You  have  not,"  they  will  say,  "overtaken  the  country,  have 
you,  that  you  first  tried  to  occupy?"  Well,  that  seems  strange,  I 
confess,  but  it  was  not  according  to  human  designing.  I  have 
often  stated  in  this  country  that  in  1859,  when  I  was  going  with 
Dr.  Butler,  then  superintendent  of  our  Mission,  from  Calcutta  to 
Lucknow,  he  explained  to  me  one  day  that  it  was  a  great  ad- 
vantage, for  which  I  should  be  thankful,  that  our  Mission  was 
conducted  among  a  people  who  spoke  only  one  language.  Our 
Presbyterian  brethren,  on  the  other  side  of  the  Ganges,  he  said, 
must  learn  three  languages,  but  our  compact  field,  with  its  seven- 
teen millions,  was  inhabited  by  those  who  spoke  Hindustani  ex- 
clusively. 

Yet  I  stand  here  to-night  as  one  who  superintends,  in  part, 
missionary  work  among  people  speaking  twenty-eight  different 
tongues  in  southern  Asia.  I  thought  it  very  striking  when  Dr. 
Leonard  remarked  the  other  day,  "We  have  already  missionary 
work  conducted  in  fourteen  different  languages  within  these 
United  States."  We  just  exactly  double  that  number,  and  we 
are  not  done  with  it,  for  I  shall  probably  live  to  see  the  day  when 
our  twenty-eight  languages  will  be  fifty,  as  the  work  expands. 
"Why  did  you  let  the  work  expand?  You  confess  that  you  can- 
not overtake  it."  We  could  not  help  its  expansion.  God  has  a 
hand  in  all  these  matters.  But  there  is  one  thing  I  cannot  make 
the   people   at   home   understand,   which   is   that   much   of  this 


THE   OPEN    DOOR    IN    SOUTHERN    ASIA  183 

expansion  was  in  the  teeth  of  our  protest.  In  1882  there  t^mt  a 
bishop  from  the  home  land,  and  a  senior  missionary  secretary. 
Bishop  Foster,  and  Dr.  Reid,  and  I  remember  how  in  the  city  of 
Calcutta  they  belabored  us  in  the  South  India  Conference,  which 
then  included  nearly  the  whole  of  India,  because  we  would  not 
agree  to  a  plan  which  would  extend  our  responsibility  as  mission- 
ary workers  over  the  entire  empire.  I  stood  up  there  one  day 
and  was  strangely  moved ;  I  spoke  with  tears.  I  said,  "If  we 
assume  the  responsibility  you  are  urging  upon  us,  it  will  involve 
an  annual  expenditure  of  about  three  hundred  and  fifty  thousand 
dollars."  They  received  that  statement  with  expressions  of  in- 
credulity. I  knew  pretty  well  what  I  meant.  Now  see  what  has 
happened.  We  are  occupying  a  field  to-day  which,  according  to  Extent  of  the 
the  ordinary  appropriations  of  any  modern  missionary  society,  '® 
would  require  just  about  three  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars 
a  year.  And  we  have  never  had  the  half  of  it — hardly,  indeed, 
the  tenth  of  it — for  that  field.  But  there  is  the  responsibility. 
But  it  was  not  according  to  our  plan.  Those  good  men  did  not 
believe  that  it  would  ever  reach  such  a  sum,  but  there  is  One  who 
guides  in  all  these  matters,  and  we  follow  where  God  leads.  He 
gives  us,  I  think,  still  sometimes  a  glimpse  of  a  star  from  heaven 
that  we  can  follow  to  the  exact  point  where  it  shines  down,  not 
upon  the  Babe  of  Bethlehem,  but  upon  the  work  which  that  now 
glorified  One  directs  from  his  eternal  throne.  We  are  guided 
still  by  the  Spirit  and  the  providence  of  God. 

You  ask  me  again,  How  ?  Well,  it  comes  from  the  work  itself.  Providential 
Take  one  illustration.  On  the  Upper  Ganges  we  worked  on  the 
eastern  side  of  the  river  for  some  years.  Every  now  and  then 
some  man  would  be  converted  who  had  a  relative  on  the  other 
side  of  the  river,  and  he  would  come  over  and  learn  something 
about  the  new  teaching,  and  then  ask  that  some  one  would  go 
there.  Pretty  soon  we  had  a  call  from  the  other  side  of  the  river 
that  seemed  to  be  providential.  I  remember  one  tour  that  Bishop 
Parker  and  I  made  on  that  side  of  the  river,  taking  with  us  three 
volunteer  preachers  to  do  pioneer  work.  We  just  dropped  them 
at  a  railroad  station,  and  said,  "You  meet  us  eight  days  hence  at 
Muzaffarnagar ;  meet  us  then  and  tell  us  what  you  may  have 
found."  We  came  to  these  men,  and  they  said,  "We  have  found 
people  who  have  Christian  relatives  on  the  other  side  of  the  river, 
all  through  the  country.     We  have  preached  the  word  and  have 


184  THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 

baptized  a  few  converts."  I  sent  to  the  nearest  magistrate  and 
asked  for  a  copy  of  the  last  Indian  census.  I  turned  it  over  and 
found  that  between  the  Upper  Ganges  and  the  Upper  Indus 
Rivers  there  were  Hving  one  miUion  one  hundred  thousand  of 
these  people,  and  their  religious  ideas  came  nearer  to  the  standard 
of  Christianity  than  those  of  any  other  people  we  had  ever  found. 
They  believed  in  future  rewards  and  punishments,  and,  of  course, 
in  a  future  existence ;  in  the  separation  of  the  good  from  the  bad, 
and  in  one  Supreme  Being.  Now,  what  are  we  to  do  in  such  a 
case?  There  was  only  one  thing  we  could  do.  We  planted  our 
banner,  and  largely  from  the  initial  movement  begun  at  that 
time  the  Northwest  India  Conference  has  grown  up  and  has 
become  a  powerful  body.  Then  we  had  gone  preaching  to  the 
Europeans  all  through  southern  India.  Step  by  step  we  have  to 
follow  on. 
A  Summons  God  leads  very  strangely.     I  remember  once  when  I  landed  at 

to  Gujarat  Bombay — it  was  when  I  first  went  out  as  a  missionary  bishop — 
there  was  a  strange  impression — that  is  all  I  can  call  it — that 
God  had  a  work  for  us  to  do  up  there  in  Gujarat,  about  three 
hundred  miles  north  of  Bombay.  There  are  some  ten  million 
people  there  who  speak  the  same  language.  I  said  to  the  brethren 
then,  "We  should  have  some  work  up  there."  But  one  year  after 
another  went  past,  and  we  never  opened  the  work,  until  at  last, 
when  I  returned  from  this  country — I  think  it  was  in  1895  or 
1896 — I  found  a  telegram  waiting,  asking  me  to  go  up  to  Gujarat, 
to  a  certain  place  named,  because  there  was  a  very  important 
movement  there  that  required  attention.  I  replied  by  telegram 
that  I  would  come  next  night.  I  went  up  and  spent  the  day  under 
a  banyan  tree.  They  had  a  number  of  inquirers,  and  we  explained 
to  them  what  all  this  meant,  the  whole  day  long.  In  the  course 
of  the  afternoon  I  baptized  forty-three  persons.  We  sent  to  a 
village  and  bought  some  dried  raisins,  and  we  made  some  raisin 
wine  as  best  we  could,  and,  with  some  cakes  baked  on  the  ashes 
for  bread,  I  administered  the  Lord's  Supper  for  the  first  time  to 
those  new  converts.  I  tried  to  teach  them  to  conduct  family 
prayer.  I  think,  if  I  remember  correctly,  that  it  was  only  per- 
haps some  two  or  three  years  after  that  Bishop  Foss  and  Doctor 
Goucher,  under  the  same  tree,  collected  an  immense  assembly  of 
Christian  people,  and  baptized  with  their  own  hands  two  hundred 
and  twenty-five  persons.    Bishop  Warren  had  intended  to  go  out 


THE   OPEN    DOOR    IN    SOUTHERN    ASIA  185 

this  year,  but  has  postponed  the  visit  for  good  reasons  for  Avelve 
months.  He  would  have  met  under  the  same  banyan  tree,  if  he 
had  gone,  a  thousand  converts  presented  for  baptism.    So  it  goes. 

I  give  just  a  few  ilhistrations.  When  I  talk  in  this  way  I  trust  No  Sounding 
there  is  no  one  here  who  will  feel  like  rising  and  asking  me  why  **^  *  Retreat 
we  go  so  far  afield.  It  is  because  the  field  is  so  wide,  the  people 
are  so  many,  the  harvest  is  so  great.  The  tokens  of  God's  pres- 
ence are  unmistakable.  The  still  small  voice  in  one  hundred 
thousand  hearts  prompts  us  to  believe  that  God  is  speaking  to  us 
to  go  forward.  There  is  no  such  thing  as  going  back  in  the  true 
missionary  field.  There  is  no  turning  of  the  back  upon  any  foe. 
Our  face  is  to  the  front,  and  we  must  maintain  that  attitude  until 
all  the  millions  of  earth  are  converted  to  God.  There  is  no  going 
back. 

But  still  some  will  say  tiiat  we  need  not  have  gone  to  these  The  Beckon- 
distant  fields,  thev  are  so  far  awav.  But  there  is  the  beckoning  l"^  ^*°'*  °^ 
hand  of  God.  I  would  ask  you,  as  men  who  believe  in  the  mis- 
sionary enterprise,  Is  it  of  men  or  is  it  of  God  ?  It  is  one  of  the 
two,  and  there  is  no  mistake.  If  it  is  of  God  we  must  obey,  and 
if  it  is  of  God  we  must  believe  in  his  guiding  hand.  We  read  the 
story  of  the  old  pillar  of  fire  and  pillar  of  cloud,  followed  by  the 
people  of  God  across  the  wilderness.  Some  men  tell  us  nowa- 
days that  that  story  is  not  to  be  taken  literally.  Others  accept  it  as 
absolutely  literal.  I  will  tell  you  how  it  is  with  me :  however  it 
may  have  been  in  the  days  of  Moses,  it  is  real  nozv.  We  are  to 
follow  God  iiozv,  and  I  am  a  great  deal  more  concerned  with  the 
practical  theology  of  this  new  century  than  I  am  with  those  who 
are  not  perfectly  certain  about  events  that  happened  in  former 
days.  I  know  what  that  story  means  to  me.  Some  one  will  ask, 
"Do  you  ever  see  a  pillar  of  fire?  Do  you  ever  hear  a  voice  that 
you  cannot  understand  ?  Are  these  miraculous  tokens  ever  given 
to  us?"  No,  I  can't  say  that  I  have  seen  them,  or  that  I  covet 
them.  I  will  even  say  that  I  do  not  wish  for  them,  for  I  think  it 
would  weaken  my  faith,  and  would  make  me  careless,  if  I  could 
only  trust  to  outward  tokens  that  every  man  could  see  and  no 
man  could  misunderstand.  But  there  is  the  still  small  voice,  that  The  still 
something  which  makes  Methodist  people  say  "I  feel,"  which  "*  "''^ 
enables  you  to  feel  the  providential  movings  of  God,  something 
that  was  referred  to  by  one  of  the  speakers  to-day,  that  once  stole 
into  my  own  heart,  when  for  the  first  time,  away  down  about  the 


1 86 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


A  Prophetic 
Conviction 


The  Malay 
Peninsula 


Straits  of  Malacca,  I  began  to  feel  a  strange,  inexplicable  interest 
in  the  Philippine  Islands.  I  thought — perhaps  it  was  the  rem- 
nants of  my  Irish  nature — that  because  they  told  me  that  I  could 
go  into  any  of  that  vast  group  except  the  Philippine  Islands, 
where  the  Spaniards  would  not  let  us  go,  that  I  must  go.  I  not 
only  felt  a  desire  to  go  where  they  told  me  I  could  not,  but  there 
sprang  up  in  my  heart  a  strange  impression  that  sometime  I  would 
go.  At  my  next  visit  they  told  me  about  a  man  who  had  gone 
there  to  sell  Bibles  and  Testaments,  and  that  the  Spaniards  had 
him  in  prison  within  two  days.  Again  I  wished  to  go,  and  I 
talked  with  this  man,  and  by  this  time  I  began  to  have  a  feeling 
that  I  was  going.  The  story  is  too  long,  but  /  have  been  there; 
that  part  has  been  confirmed.  Now,  as  it  has  been  with  me,  in 
this  case,  I  think  there  is  no  manner  of  doubt  that  we  have  been 
led  on  step  by  step  elsewhere.  We  have  seen  this  work  expand- 
ing, until  now,  on  the  western  borders,  almost  up  to  the  borders 
of  Persia,  in  sight  of  the  city  of  Kandahar,  the  way  is  open.  The 
Indian  government  has  gone  up  there  and  established  a  military 
station,  and  just  above  it  they  have  pierced  the  mountain  with  a 
tunnel,  and  at  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel  they  have  rails  enough  to 
construct  a  railway  to  the  city  of  Kandahar.  And  when  we  go 
up  there  we  can  go  through  that  tunnel,  and  from  the  other  side 
we  can  look  out  over  Central  Asia,  and  see  the  distant  city  of  Kan- 
dahar. Away  up  at  that  mountain  outpost  is  a  Methodist  church, 
and  one  of  the  last  letters  I  had  from  Bishop  Warne  tells  me  of 
his  visit  there,  and  of  the  membership  and  of  the  outlook. 

Then  you  turn  and  go  away  down  again  until  you  have  crossed 
the  Indian  empire,  and  go  about  two  thousand  miles  from  Cal- 
cutta until  you  come  to  the  equatorial  city  of  Singapore.  We 
were  led  there,  I  think,  in  a  providential  way.  Once  we  had 
taken  our  station  at  Singapore  we  began  to  work  back  up  the 
peninsula.  On  the  map  the  Malay  Peninsula,  which  you  attach 
very  little  importance  to,  looks  like  a  little  narrow  strip  of  land. 
It  is  about  the  size  of  New  York  and  Pennsylvania  together.  It 
is  not  densely  populated.  It  is  a  rich  country — the  tin  of  the 
world  nearly  all  comes  from  there.  The  Chinese  immigrants 
are  coming  in  very  rapidly.  We  have  occupied  three  or  four 
stations  on  that  peninsula — the  great  city  of  Penang  and  the 
amazing  city  of  Singapore.  The  people  who  come  to  Singapore 
are  from  all  those  islands ;    from  Borneo,  which  is  larger  than 


THE   OPEN    DOOR    IX    SOUTHERN    ASIA  187 

France;  from  New  Guinea,  as  largeas  the  Austrian  enipir^,  and 
Java,  equal  to  about  the  area  of  Cuba — from  all  that  vast 
region  people  are  coming  to  the  central  point.  As  a  matter  of 
course  you  may  expect  that  some  of  them  will  be  converted.  We 
had  a  young  man  converted  and  baptized  in  Singapore,  a  grad- 
uate, first  of  Ohio  Wesleyan  University,  and  then  of  Yale,  who 
is  now  conducting  an  independent  school  in  the  city  of  Batavia  at 
his  own  expense.  He  sent  me  a  hundred  dollars  about  a  year 
ago  from  that  point.  That  is  what  you  might  call  spontaneous 
work. 

Then  there  is  the  great  island  of  Borneo ;  you  know  something  a  Missionary 
about  it.  It  has  a  sparse  population.  Has  it  ever  occurred  to  *°  Borneo 
you,  the  reason  why?  It  is  because  of  a  peculiar  custom  which 
they  have  throughout  all  that  region,  the  people  being  called  head- 
hunters.  A  man  is  said  not  to  be  in  a  position  to  ask  any  maiden 
to  become  his  bride  until  he  has  killed  somebody  and  polished 
his  skull  and  attached  it  as  an  ornament  to  the  ridgepole  of  his 
house.  They  have  a  belief  that  when  they  have  done  this  all  the 
virtues  of  the  murdered  man  will  become  the  possession  of  the 
man  who  kills  him.  If  the  murdered  man  is  brave  this  man  will 
have  his  courage;  and  if  he  is  strong  this  man  will  have  his 
strength.  We  sent  a  missionary  there  some  few  years  ago,  and 
he  remained  ten  months — I  mean  Dr.  Luering,  the  wonderful 
linguist  we  have  there,  one  of  the  most  marvelous  German  mis- 
sionaries in  the  world.  This  man  had  been  there  ten  months, 
when  a  death  occurred  in  our  upper  mission,  and  we  had  to  recall 
him.  He  went  down  to  the  village  to  say  that  the  steamer  which 
brought  him  the  letter  would  go  out  in  the  morning,  and  he  must 
return  at  once,  and  he  had  come  to  say  good-bye.  The  headman 
of  the  village  begged  him  not  to  go,  but  he  said  that  the  going  was 
imperative.  They  urged  and  he  finally  said,  "If  you  will  give  me 
a  satisfactory  assurance  that  you  will  be  Christians  I  will  come 
back  or  send  some  one  to  take  my  place."  The  headman  said, 
"O,  I  will  be  a  Christian."  "Yes,"  replied  the  missionary,  "you 
have  told  me  that  a  good  many  times,  but  you  don't  keep  your 
word.  Give  me  a  pledge."  "What  pledge  do  you  want?"  Look- 
ing up  to  the  ridgepole  of  the  house,  where  there  were  ninety 
skulls,  every  one  of  them  belonging  to  some  one  killed  by  this 
man,  "Give  me,"  said  the  missionary,  "one  of  those  skulls,  and  I  A  Cranial 
will  give  you  my  promise  that  we  will  come  back  sometime."   ^^®°S* 


1 88 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


The  Planting 
of  Methodism 
in  Borneo 


The  man  sprang  to  his  feet  and  laid  his  hand  upon  his  creese, 
for  it  is  a  glaring  insult  to  ask  a  man  for  one  of  those  precious 
skulls.  Dr.  Luering  looked  him  quietly  in  the  face.  "You  said 
you  were  going  to  be  a  Christian,  and  Christians  never  kill.  Now, 
if  you  are  sincere,  you  won't  do  it."  The  man  put  up  his  knife, 
and  said,  "Take  one."  Grasping  one  of  those  knives.  Dr. 
Luering  climbed  up  and  cut  the  string  and  brought  away  with 
him  a  skull  of  one  of  these  murdered  inhabitants  of  Borneo. 
Shortly  afterward  he  was  called  to  Germany,  and  he  took  the 
skull  with  him.  The  skull  of  that  unfortunate  man  is  traveling 
about  through  the  cities  of  Germany  to  the  present  day,  for  Dr. 
Luering  could  never  get  it  back  again.  Some  one  now  and  then 
would  ask  us,  "Are  you  going  to  establish  a  mission  in  Borneo?" 
Not  long  ago  we  heard  a  wonderful  story.  Since  the  Boxer 
movement  the  people  of  China  are  allowed  to  take  their  wives  and 
daughters  with  them  when  they  leave  the  empire.  Formerly  they 
were  not,  and  that  was  a  great  hindrance  to  emigration  from  that 
empire.  Bishop  Warne,  when  on  his  way  to  Manila,  heard  that 
six  or  seven  hundred  people  were  actually  on  their  way  from  the 
Foochow  country  to  plant  a  colony  in  Borneo.  When  he  heard 
this,  at  the  last  moment,  he  canceled  the  ticket  which  he  had 
taken  on  the  steamer,  jumped  on  another  steamer,  and  made  for 
a  point  where  he  could  intercept  these  men,  went  with  them  on 
the  same  vessel,  landed  with  them,  saw  them  build  their  huts, 
found  among  them  one  or  two  local  preachers,  got  them  together, 
put  one  man  in  charge,  and  thus  Methodism  was  planted  in  the 
great  island  of  Borneo.  The  next  thing  I  heard  of  that  colony 
was  that  they  were  all  dying.  It  was  a  sickly  place.  I  was  re- 
minded then  of  what  Bishop  Warne  had  written:  "I  do  not 
know  but  this  ship  may  be  the  Mayfloiver  of  a  future  empire.  It 
may  be  that  this  first  colony  shall  be  the  leader  of  others  that  are 
to  follow,  and  we  shall  build  a  great  Christian  empire  in  the 
island  of  Borneo."  I  remembered  how  there  was  great  sickness 
and  death  among  the  first  settlers  from  the  Mayflozver.  It  has 
turned  out  as  it  did  in  the  other  case ;  some  died,  perhaps  a  hun- 
dred or  more  returned  to  China,  but  the  colony  is  flourishing, 
and  we  have  now  a  membership  there  of  between  seven  and  eight 
hundred  adult  Christians. 

In  closing,  I  would  say  that  I  was  asked  here  if  it  is  true  that 
we  have  one  hundred  thousand  people  in  India  asking  for  bap- 


THE    EVANGELIZATION    OK    THE    WORLD  l8y 

tism.  I  have  been  assured  that  this  number  is  not  an  exa^gera-  a  Multitude 
tion.  I  wrote  for  the  figures,  and  my  correspondent  rephed,  "We  Waiting  for 
could  report  a  much  larger  number  than  this ;  we  could  baptize 
the  whole  one  hundred  thousand  within  the  next  twelve  months 
if  we  had  the  means  to  employ  native  teachers  to  go  among 
them  and  teach  them  just  the  rudiments  of  Christian  doctrine 
and  Christian  life."  My  own  impression  is  that  we  might  mul- 
tiply that  number  if  we  had  the  means,  and  there  is  hardly  any 
limit  to  it  at  all. 

Bishop  Moore,  in  the  very  kind  remarks  that  he  made,  referred  One  Million 
to  the  fact  that  I  am  not  as  strong  as  I  used  to  be.  I  have  reason  Converts 
to  believe  that  he  is  perhaps  correct,  that  I  am  not  as  strong  as  I 
was  in  earlier  years.  But  as  he  made  the  remark  I  remembered 
what  I  had  said  publicly,  that  I  trusted  that  God  would  spare  my 
life  until  I  should  see  one  million  converts  in  India  alone  within 
the  bounds  of  our  own  work.  I  believe  I  shall  see  it.  I  believe — 
and  I  have  used  this  expression  before — that  if  the  Protestant 
Churches  of  these  United  States  would  unite  together,  would 
look  that  problem  in  the  face,  if  they  would  take  the  lesson  to 
heart  that  God  is  teaching  them,  that  within  ten  years  we  might 
have  ten  millions  in  India,  who  are  worshiping  idols  to-day, 
either  within  the  pale  of  the  Christian  Church  or  inquiring  the 
way  thither.  But  if  my  own  poor  life  is  spared  until  I  shall  see 
that  million  gathered  within  our  native  churches  in  India,  then  I 
shall  thank  God,  and  these  poor  feet,  which  shrink  and  falter  now, 
with  unutterable  joy  shall  walk  through  the  gates  of  day ! 


WHY   THE   WORLD   SHOULD    BE   SPEEDILY 
EVANGELIZED 

The    Ren-.    E.    M.    Taylor,    D.D. 

Let  us  catch,  if  possible,  the  divine  idea  wrapped  up  in  the  mis-  God's 
sionary  propaganda  of  the  world.  What  is  God's  thought  in  the  *"^^ 
gift  of  Christianity  to  the  children  of  men?  Tersely  defined,  it  may 
be  stated  in  the  following  simple  words.  It  is  God's  chosen  way 
of  getting  the  best  things  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven  into  human 
life  through  the  loving,  willing  cooperation  of  man.  The  highest 
expression  and  realization  of  that  method  he  has  given  us  in  the 
character  and  teachings  of  Jesus  Christ.     Hence  our  first  duty 


190 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


The  Mind  of 
Christ 


Feeding 
the  Five 
Thousand 


The  Parables 


The  Lord's 
Prayer 


in  unfolding  the  subject  of  this  address  is  to  discover  the  thought 
of  Christ  in  relation  to  the  extension  of  his  kingdom  in  the  world. 
Here  the  Church  finds  its  supreme  authority  for  Christian 
missions. 

First,  the  bedrock  of  our  obligation  as  a  Christian  Church  is  in 
the  delegated  power  and  authority  of  the  Son  of  God.  Let  any- 
one follow  the  prevailing  attitude  of  the  mind  of  Christ  in  the 
New  Testament  and  he  cannot  fail  to  catch  his  view  of  world- 
wide dominion.  We  are  commissioned  to  win  the  world  as  his 
followers.  The  Christian  Church  stands  for  Christian  im- 
periaHsm.  Christ's  solicitude  for  the  entire  race  is  the  broadest 
and  deepest  thought  in  the  wonderful  story  of  his  life,  and  a 
great  part  of  that  wonderful  intercessory  prayer  for  his  disciples 
is  that  they  might  be  one  with  him  in  his  intense  longing  and 
sacrificial  efforts  to  enthrone  himself  in  the  heart  of  every 
human  being. 

Recall  that  day  when  our  Lord  preached  to  the  great  multitude 
until  the  late  hours  of  the  afternoon,  and  his  disciples  requested 
him  to  send  the  people  away.  Turning  to  them,  he  said,  "They 
need  not  depart.  Give  ye  them  to  eat."  And  then,  taking  the 
five  loaves  and  two  fishes,  he  fed,  by  the  aid  of  his  disciples,  the 
five  thousand  people.  This  is  the  great  missionary  miracle  of  the 
New  Testament,  and  the  only  one  that  is  recorded  four  times  by 
the  writers  of  the  Gospels. 

Study  the  Master's  method  of  teaching  by  parable,  and  the  same 
broad,  comprehensive  view  of  his  kingdom  is  there  enunciated. 
The  grain  of  mustard  seed,  the  smallest  of  all  seeds,  expands  till 
it  becomes  a  great  tree  so  that  the  birds  of  the  air  find  shelter  in 
its  branches.  Looking  at  the  housewife  as  she  kneads  her  dough, 
he  says,  "The  kingdom  of  heaven  is  like  unto  leaven,  which  a 
woman  took,  and  hid  in  three  measures  of  meal,  till  the  whole  was 
leavened."  Was  there  ever  a  more  impressive  altruism  given  to 
this  world  than  Christ's  reply  to  his  loquacious  inquisitor  in  the 
parable  of  the  Good  Samaritan? 

A  literary  and  spiritual  analysis  of  the  Lord's  Prayer  emphasizes 
this  same  broad  and  comprehensive  view  of  the  Christ  dominion 
in  the  world.  Before  we  can  claim  one  personal  petition  men- 
tioned in  that  prayer  we  must  be  filled  with  the  desire  to  aid  by 
our  efforts  that  continuous  progress,  under  the  power  of  God, 
which  is  to  effectuate  the  renovation  of  the  world  bv  the  estab- 


THE    EVANGELIZATION    OF    THE    WORLD  I9I 

lishment  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven  on  earth.  "Thy  kujgdom 
come.  Thy  will  be  done  on  earth,  as  it  is  in  heaven" — that  is  the 
great  missionary  overture  of  the  Lord's  Prayer. 

Furthermore,  note  the  tone  of  those  postresurrection  speeches  The  Last 
of  our  Lord  to  his  disciples.  During  those  days  no  other  com-  Command 
mand  of  such  sweeping  force  is  recorded.  Note  well  the  words 
of  the  great  commission  given  to  his  followers  in  their  last  earthly 
interview.  Christ  stands  with  an  open  grave  behind  him  and  the 
open  heaven  before  him.  At  his  girdle  hang  the  keys  of  universal 
dominion.  At  that  solemn  moment  there  passes  from  his  lips 
into  the  ears  of  his  disciples  the  most  audacious  and  imperative 
command  ever  given  to  men :  "All  power  is  given  unto  me  in 
heaven  and  in  earth.  Go  ye  therefore,  and  teach  all  nations,  bap- 
tizing them  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the 
Holy  Ghost :  Teaching  them  to  observe  all  things  whatsoever  I 
have  commanded  you :  and,  lo,  I  am  with  you  alway,  even  unto 
the  end  of  the  world."  Brothers !  there  is  only  one  message  in 
all  Scripture  on  this  subject.  The  command  is  to  conquer  the 
world.  The  message  of  the  glorified  Christ  to  all  his  followers  is, 
"The  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth." 

The  Duke  of  Wellington  was  once  greeted  by  a  subordinate  Marching 
officer  in  these  words :  "Sire,  do  you  not  think  that  it  is  a  waste  Orders 
of  time  and  a  squandering  of  precious  lives  to  send  our  English 
boys  and  girls  to  these  pagan  countries  to  endure  the  suffering  of 
foreign  mission  work?"  "Sir,"  replied  the  Iron  Duke,  "the 
Christian  is  called  Christ's  soldier.  Look  well  to  your  marching 
orders — 'Go  ye  into  all  the  world,  and  preach  the  Gospel  to  every 
creature.'  " 

Second,  the  home  Church  must  speedily  respond  to  the  present  Eeflex 
missionary  emergency  in  order  to  retain  the  presence  of  the  living,  ^f  jiiggllfiig 
conquering  Christ  in  her  own  experience.  The  reflex  action  of 
the  foreign  missionary  work  upon  the  home  Church  is  worthy  of 
the  profoundest  consideration.  There  is  a  disposition  to  be  found 
in  many  individuals  and  churches  that  regards  the  message  of 
Jesus  Christ  as  intended  to  alleviate  personal  pains,  to  modify 
personal  difficulties,  to  give  a  spirit  of  assurance  against  personal 
inconvenience,  disaster,  and  trouble  in  this  world ;  to  regard  the 
Gospel  as  a  kind  of  building  and  loan  association  in  which  we 
may  make  safe  investments  and  secure  a  comfortable  income. 
Here  is  need  of  a  warning  note  in  our  present  emergency.     The 


192 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


Christianity 
Necessarily 
Militant 


A  Stimulus 
Needed 


Church  that  allows  itself  to  be  nursed  in  a  spirit  of  sybaritic  ease, 
that  furnishes  first-class  entertainment  in  the  form  of  fine  preach- 
ing, enchanting  music,  and  all  that  simply  pertains  to  the  success 
of  a  local  place  of  worship,  without  realizing  the  broader  and 
more  comprehensive  view  of  Christ's  Gospel,  may  be  a  very 
respectable  club  of  men  and  women,  but  it  is  discredited  by  Jesus 
Christ  and  is  doomed.  It  is  not  in  good  standing  with  Almighty 
God  as  it  is  related  to  the  evangelization  of  this  world.  Woe  be 
to  the  Church  that  follows  in  that  train !  Our  success  in  the  home 
Church  rests,  therefore,  on  our  zeal  and  service  for  those  in  the 
"uttermost  parts  of  the  earth."  The  Church  has  come  to  such 
an  emergency  and  opportunity  that  she  must  give  in  order  to  live. 
She  must  bend  to  the  influence  of  Christ's  world-wide  love  or 
break  under  the  authority  of  his  law. 

Napoleon  once  said,  "It  is  a  maxim  in  the  military  art  that  the 
army  which  remains  in  its  intrenchments  is  beaten."  A  stay-at- 
home  Christianity  is  not  Christianity  in  any  sense  of  the  word.  A 
nonmissionary  Church  disobeys  the  greatest  commandment  of 
her  Lord  and  sins  against  her  own  normal  life.  "There  is  that 
scattereth  and  yet  increaseth,  and  there  is  that  which  withholdeth 
more  than  is  meet,  but  it  tendeth  to  poverty."  It  is  the  Church 
that  is  on  the  imperial  march  of  extending  Christ's  kingdom  in 
the  world  that  has  the  promise  of  his  abiding  presence.  "Go  ye 
to  all  nations"  is  the  condition  of  his  promised  presence.  "Lo,  I 
am  with  you." 

The  missionary  propaganda  to-day  rests  more  heavily  on  the 
Church  than  ever  before  in  her  history,  and  she  stands  in  pressing 
need  of  a  tonic  to  brace  her  for  the  emergency  of  the  hour.  O 
that  she  could  see  with  her  Lord's  eyes,  and  feel  with  her  Lord's 
heart,  and  rise  to  the  vigor  of  the  game  that  is  to  take  the  world 
for  Christ !  The  fields  are  now  white  for  the  harvest  as  never 
before.  The  diplomacy  of  nations  has  brought  the  various 
peoples  of  the  world  together  in  a  federation  of  commercial  in- 
terests. The  efforts  on  the  part  of  modern  civilization  to  place 
the  entire  world  under  the  dominion  of  Christian  law ;  the  com- 
parative study  of  the  world's  great  religions ;  the  losing  game 
that  pagan  nations  find  they  are  playing  against  the  commercial 
and  social  developments  of  Christian  nations ;  the  world-wide 
openings  and  world-wide  facilities  of  national  intercourse — these 
are  God's  modern  methods  of  saying  to  his  modern  Calebs  and 


THE    EVANGELIZATION    OF   THE    WOKLU 


193 


Joshuas,  "Go  ye  up  and  possess  the  land."    "Where  the  word  of  a 
king  is,  there  is  power." 

If  the  Church  has  any  appreciation  of  the  mind  of  Christ,  if  Loyalty  to 
she  has  any  desire  to  obey  her  Lord  in  anything,  she  must  give  ^^"^* 
heed  to  his  imperial  command.  Her  loving  loyalty  to  the  cause 
of  missions  is  the  measure  of  her  appreciation  of  the  Son  of 
God,  who  loved  her  and  gave  himself  for  her.  It  may  be  safely 
affirmed  that  the  Church  has  never  yet  met  in  a  commensurate 
way  the  challenge  of  the  world  and  the  command  of  her  Lord  to 
use  her  time,  her  talent,  and  her  resources  for  the  evangelization 
of  the  world.  If  we  fail  to  take  advantage  of  the  present  emer- 
gency and  opportunity  the  day  is  not  far  distant  when  we  shall 
have  no  Christian  Church  from  which  to  send  the  loving  Gospel 
of  the  Son  of  God. 

There  is  no  demoralization  to  spiritual  life  more  subtle,  dense.  Neglect  of 
and  malignant  in  its  attack  upon  the  soul  than  a  conscience  alive  Opportunity 
to  high  ideals  and  conscious  of  great  opportunities  and  yet  ever 
shading  away  from  those  ideals  and  neglecting  those  opportuni- 
ties in  the  general  practical  work  of  life.  Such  action  is  an 
opiate  to  obligation,  a  chill  to  enthusiasm.  This  is  the  condition 
of  much  of  our  Church  life  to-day  in  connection  with  our  mis- 
sionary emergency  and  opportunity.  Here  is  the  breeding  pen 
of  all  those  phantoms  of  ignorance,  timidity,  indifference,  and 
distaste  that  are  hovering  vampirelike  over  our  beloved  Zion. 
We  are  playing  with  eternal  verities.  We  need  a  fresh  anointing 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  to  enable  us  to  grasp  the  opportunity  of  bring- 
ing a  lost  world  to  the  fold  of  the  Good  Shepherd. 

There  are  some  terrific  examples  of  the  manner  in  which  this  Kadesh- 
indifference  has  been  treated  by  God  in  the  history  of  his  people.  ''*™®* 
Do  we  recall  that  day  when  the  Almighty  brought  the  children 
of  Israel  to  the  open-door  emergency  at  Kadesh-barnea  ?  There 
the  chosen  people  stood  upon  the  verge  of  the  promised  land. 
Twelve  commissioners  were  sent  over  to  view  the  country.  It 
was  an  open  door,  a  great  opportunity.  They  went  over  and 
looked  at  the  land,  and  came  back  with  their  report.  Ten 
twelfths  of  them  did  just  what  a  large  number  of  the  Church  is 
doing  to-day  in  relation  to  the  Open-door  Emergency  in  foreign 
lands.  They  said,  "The  inhabitants  were  giants,  and  we  were  like 
grasshoppers  in  their  presence.  They  have  walled  cities,  and  we 
are  unable  to  take  them."     Majorities  ruled  in  that  day  as  they 


of  Heroz 


194  THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 

do  at  the  present  time.  Caleb  and  Joshua  were  optimists  and 
made  their  minority  report,  with  faith  in  God  back  of  it ;  they 
were  stoned  into  silence.  What  was  the  result?  Jehovah  closed 
the  door  of  opportunity  and  turned  his  people  back  into  the 
wilderness  for  forty  years.  A  generation  sunk  into  oblivion,  and 
the  express  trains  of  divine  progress  are  forty  years  behind 
schedule  time  to  this  hour.  Look,  if  you  please,  at  this  crime  of 
indifference  as  it  lies  in  the  mind  of  God  illustrated  on  another 
page  of  the  sacred  story.  Sisera  with  his  wild  warriors  had  by 
forced  marches  crossed  into  the  kingdom  of  Israel.  How  Israel 
cringed  before  that  army  with  its  nine  hundred  chariots  of 
iron !  Then  Deborah  and  Barak  sounded  the  war  bugles,  gath- 
ering the  hosts  of  Israel  to  the  combat,  and  utterly  destroyed 
the  army  of  the  alien.  In  the  song  that  Deborah  sang  after  the 
victory  there  was  a  plaintive  note ;  a  funeral  strain  was  woven 
The  Curse  into  the  paean  of  praise.  "Curse  ye  Meroz,  said  the  angel  of 
the  Lord,  curse  ye  bitterly  the  inhabitants  thereof;  because  they 
came  not  to  the  help  of  the  Lord,  to  the  help  of  the  Lord  against 
the  mighty."  What  was  the  cause  of  that  bitter  malediction 
against  that  little  town  among  the  hills  of  Palestine?  Simply 
ease-loving  indifference  to  a  great  emergency.  "We  are  safe. 
Our  vineyards  are  ripening  their  grapes  in  the  sunshine.  Our 
flocks  are  grazing  undisturbed.  No  enemy  is  likely  to  come  our 
way.  The  other  tribes  of  the  nation  can  take  care  of  the  battle, 
and  we  will  help  sing  the  songs  of  victory."  But  the  curse  of 
Jehovah  obliterated  her  from  the  face  of  the  earth.  There  is  not 
an  antiquarian  geographer  that  has  been  able  to  locate  the  site  of 
Meroz  unto  this  day. 

Bear  with  me  while  I  try  to  press  this  thought  home  by  another 
illustration  taken  from  the  field  of  Christian  history.  The  land 
where  the  cross  of  our  Lord  was  lifted,  with  all  the  spots  which 
the  Saviour  had  consecrated  with  his  presence,  is  to-day  and  has 
been  since  the  seventh  century  of  our  era  in  the  possession  of  the 
brutal  and  infidel  Turk.  That  dire  calamity  was  made  possible 
through  the  indifference  and  inactivity  of  the  Christian  Church 
at  a  supreme  moment  of  missionary  opportunity,  recalling  the 
words  of  divine  warning:  "Jeshurun  waxed  fat,  and  kicked: 
.  .  .  then  he  forsook  God  which  made  him,  and  lightly  esteemed 
the  Rock  of  his  salvation." 

Brothers,  pardon  the  intensity  and  earnestness  of  my  plea.    As 


THE   EVANGELIZATION    OF   THE    WORLD  I95 

I  listened  to  the  speeches  from  this,  platform  by  the  repr^senta-  Workers 
tives  from  our  foreign  field  revealing  the  terrible  need  of  the  ^^*il*^^«; 
pagan  world,  telling  the  story  of  barriers  removed  and  hearts  Needed 
prepared  by  the  providence  of  God  for  the  reception  of  the  Gospel ; 
as  I  hear  the  views  declaring  that  from  the  efforts  of  the  Student 
Volunteer  Movement  there  are  hundreds  of  cultured  and  trained 
young  men  and  women  ready  at  this  hour  to  enter  upon  the  work 
of  taking  the  Gospel  of  the  Great  Physician  to  heal  the  heart-sore 
of  the  pagan  world,  then  I  am  faced  with  the  shameful  fact  that 
this  help  cannot  connect  with  the  need  because  the  Church  counts 
and  uses  her  dollars  for  selfish  purposes  and  refuses  to  count 
their  value  in  the  high  spiritual  exchanges  of  the  world.  Such 
considerations  cause  me  to  tremble  and  to  fear  that  the  day  of 
vengeance  of  our  God  may  be  near  at  hand.  I  pray  God  to  with- 
hold the  thunderbolt,  and  give  her  a  proper  conception  of 
stewardship  as  related  to  advancing  the  kingdom  of  heaven 
among  men. 

Third,  the  Church  should  stir  herself  to  aggressive  work  in  A  Sense  of 
world  evangelization  through  her  sense  of  gratitude  and  apprecia-  r*  *  "  ® 
tion  of  the  heroic  services  rendered  by  the  noble  men  and  women 
who  have  opened  the  way  in  foreign  fields.  The  last  one  hundred 
years  have  witnessed  some  of  the  sublimest  achievements  ever 
recorded  in  the  story  of  the  race,  simply  as  the  result  of  foreign 
missionary  work.  These  were  the  choice  and  fiery  spirits  who 
went  in  advance  of  the  masses  of  the  Christian  Church,  inspiring 
them  and  leading  them  onward  to  the  present  emergency.  Such 
men  as  Carey,  Cox,  Livingstone,  Judson,  Butler,  Taylor,  and 
Thoburn  caught  the  secret  of  holy  zeal  and  Christian  love  for 
humanity  that  led  them  to  encounter  enormous  difficulties — diffi- 
culties of  language,  customs,  and  prejudices;  plunging  into 
pestiferous  wildernesses ;  wading  through  malarious  swamps ; 
scorched  by  tropical  heat  and  bitten  by  winter's  cold ;  encounter- 
ing the  savagery  of  barbarous  tribes ;  standing  undaunted  amid 
the  wild  storms  of  rage  and  hatred  that  burst  upon  them  in  the 
Sepoy  rebellion  and  fierce  Boxer  uprisings. 

Through  such  toil,  danger,  and  sacrifice  these  men  and  women  Face  to  Face 
have  placed  our  holy  Christianity  face  to  face  with  the  great  pagan  ^^^^  .^^ 
religions  of  the  world.    So  thorough  has  been  their  work  and  so 
indefatigable  their  toil  that  there  exists  no  considerable  people 
on  the  face  of  the  globe  to-day  among  whom  the  Gospel  is  not 


196 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


A  Significant 
Testimony 


The  Primitive 
Anglo-Saxon 


being  preached.  The  skirmish  hue  of  missionaries  has  opened 
the  battle.  The  contest  is  on,  and  we  must  stand  by  the  result, 
accept  the  challenge,  and  go  forward  to  conquer. 

To  doubt  would  be  disloyalty. 
To  falter  would  be  sin." 

If  the  Church  accepts  the  present  open  door  of  opportunity  and 
responds  to  it  in  a  way  commensurate  with  her  resources  there  is 
little  doubt  but  that  another  half  century  will  bring  a  majority  of 
the  human  race  under  the  direct  power  of  Christianity.  God  has 
put  the  unmistakable  seal  of  his  approbation  upon  the  work.  This 
is  recognized  by  the  world's  material  forces  as  they  come  in  con- 
tact with  our  foreign  missionary  work. 

Sir  Bartle  Frere,  while  governor  of  Bombay,  wrote  regarding 
the  work  of  Christian  missions  as  follows :  "I  speak  simply  as  to 
matters  of  experience  and  observation,  just  as  a  Roman  prefect 
might  have  reported  to  Trajan,  and  I  assure  you  that,  whatever 
may  be  told  to  the  contrary,  the  teachings  of  Christianity  among 
six  hundred  and  sixty  millions  of  civilized,  industrious  Hindus 
and  Mohammedans  in  India  are  effecting  changes,  moral,  social, 
and  political,  which  for  extent  and  rapidity  of  eilfect  are  far  more 
extraordinary  than  anything  you  or  your  fathers  have  witnessed 
in  modern  Europe." 

Let  me  bring  still  nearer  to  the  fair-skinned,  blue-eyed  men 
and  women  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  race  their  obligation  of  gratitude 
for  the  service  rendered  them  by  Christian  missionaries.  "Re- 
member that  thou  wast  a  bondman  in  the  land  of  Egypt,  and 
that  the  Lord  thy  God  brought  thee  out  thence  through  a  mighty 
hand  and  by  a  stretched-out  arm."  You  cannot  get  around  it. 
"Love  ye  the  stranger,  for  ye  were  strangers  also  in  the  land  of 
Egypt."  Suffer  just  a  rough  sketch  of  the  primitive  Anglo- 
Saxon  and  his  tribe.  Had  we  been  living  fourteen  hundred  years 
ago,  and  our  eyes  cast  toward  the  Scandinavian  peninsula  in 
northern  Europe,  we  would  have  been  forced  to  behold  one  of 
the  most  terrific  human  beings,  so  far  as  coarseness  and  barbaric 
cruelty  was  concerned,  that  ever  lived — our  Anglo-Saxon  an- 
cestor. He  was  the  irrepressible  pirate  of  the  North  Sea.  War 
was  regarded  by  him  as  the  only  occupation  for  men.  Gambling 
and  drunkenness  were  his  pastimes.  These  cruel  warriors  re- 
garded it  a  shame  for  a  man  to  die  in  bed.    If  they  could  not  fall 


THE    EVANGELIZATION    OF    THE    WORLD  I97 

in  battle  they  cut  "runes"  into  their  own  necks  and  breasfs,  and 
expired  singing  war  songs  while  the  blood  streamed  down  their 
bodies.  They  were  genuine  barbarian  pirates.  Their  gods  were 
the  deified  forms  of  passions,  power,  and  cruelty. 

'  As  their  gods  were,  so  their  laws  were— 

Thor  the  strong  could  rove  and  steal ; 
So  through  many  a  peaceful  inlet 
Tore  the  Norseman's  pirate  keel." 

When  they  desired  to  know  what  their  gods  were  thinking  about 
or  what  the  turn  of  a  battle  was  to  be  they  took  fair  young  girls, 
shut  them  up  in  a  large  wicker  cage,  and  shot  arrows  into  their 
trembling  flesh  to  see  which  way  the  blood  would  run.  They 
brought  devastation  and  cruelty  wherever  they  went.  This  man.  Devastation 
and  his  tribe  wearied  of  that  work  on  the  shores  of  Europe  and  *°^  Cruelty 
then  struck  the  prow  of  his  vessel  into  the  ocean  westward  and 
landed  on  the  coast  of  Britain.  It  was  fourteen  hundred  years 
ago  when  he  made  that  voyage.  Take  an  inventory  of  his 
character  and  his  goods  as  he  lands.  He  puts  ashore  some 
materials  he  has  brought  over  in  his  pirate  craft,  constructs  a 
vehicle  of  some  form,  hitches  a  diininutive  ox  or  ass  on  one  side 
and  his  wife  on  the  other.  If  the  load  is  too  heavy  he  harnesses 
his  sixteen-year-old  girl  at  the  end  of  the  pole.  And  if  wife  or 
daughter  fail  to  draw  her  portion  of  the  load  he  lifts  his  rawhide 
whip  and  flays  her  side  with  as  little  feeling  as  he  does  the  beast 
on  the  other  side  of  the  pole.  If  you  want  to  trade  with  him  you 
must  do  it  by  barter ;  he  has  no  money  as  a  medium  of  ex- 
change. He  has  no  written  language.  Not  a  syllable  of  his 
speech  can  be  represented  in  written  form.  There  are  some 
points  of  interest  connected  with  that  girl  at  the  end  of  the  pole. 
Last  night  her  lover  came  to  see  her  and  requested  her  hand  in 
marriage.  She  looked  him  over  for  a  moment  and  then  with 
haughty  scorn  replied :  "You  come  to  ask  my  hand  in  marriage. 
You  have  not  given  the  birds  of  the  air  a  taste  of  human  flesh  for 
three  months.  The  forest  wolves  have  been  thirsty  for  human 
blood  for  six  months.  Go  wet  your  hands  in  the  blood  of  your 
human  foe  and  bring  me  the  testimony  of  your  courage,  and  I  will 
listen  to  your  wooing."  There  is  a  strain  of  that  blood  in  our 
veins  to-night — good  old  pagan,  barbarous  ancestry  have  we  all. 
Early  in  the  progress  of  their  devastating  march  over  England 


198 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


Work  of 
Missionaries 


Evolution 
a  Bace 


of 


A  Contrast  in 
Womanhood 


these  barbarians  were  met  by  zealous  missionaries  of  the  cross. 
They  halted  that  marauding  host  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ,  and 
told  them  the  story  of  God's  redemptive  love ;  and  this  wild  man 
of  the  north  forest  was  broken  into  submission,  and  gave  his  heart 
to  Jesus  Christ  as  Saviour  and  Lord.  He  kept  on  his  way  up  the 
country,  not  to  kill  and  destroy,  but  to  lay  the  foundation  stones 
of  the  great  British  empire  and  of  the  United  States  of  America. 

What  is  the  result?  The  most  romantic  and  thrilling  story  of 
the  evolution  of  a  race  of  which  the  world  makes  record.  That 
man  who  had  no  money  as  a  medium  of  exchange  has  founded 
and  conducted  the  Gibraltar  of  a  world's  finances — the  Bank  of 
England.  That  man  who  had  no  written  language  has  evolved  a 
language  in  which  the  great  proclamations  of  human  brother- 
hood and  freedom  have  been  written — the  compact  of  the  May- 
flower cabin  and  our  Declaration  of  Independence.  He  who  was 
so  brutal  and  cruel  has  born  to  him  sons  bearing  the  great  names 
of  John  Bright,  William  E.  Gladstone,  George  Washington, 
Abraham  Lincoln,  and  William  McKinley.  The  man  who  had 
no  word  to  represent  refinement  or  culture,  and  who  could  not 
appreciate  a  song  above  the  howl  of  a  wolf,  his  language  has 
caught  the  music  of  Shakespeare,  Browning,  Tennyson,  Long- 
fellow, and  Whittier,  and  the  great  hymn  authors  that  have  made 
glad  the  heart  of  the  Christian  world. 

The  contrast  in  the  life  of  that  cruel-hearted  Saxon  girl  is 
still  more  wonderful.  Ah !  when  we  tell  the  story  of  Saxon 
civilization  in  this  world  we  must  not  forget  the  Christian  char- 
acter and  tender  heart  of  the  woman  who  kept  step  by  the  side 
of  her  husband  in  the  mighty  march.  From  that  Anglo-Saxon 
girl  has  come  a  line  of  queenly  daughters.  She  became  the 
mother  of  Lady  Huntingdon, Lady  Henry  Somerset  (the  daughter 
of  a  hundred  earls),  our  own  Frances  Willard,  Mary  A.  Liver- 
more,  Julia  Ward  Howe,  and  all  that  magnificent  galaxy  of 
Saxon  womanhood  whose  radiance  is  blessing  the  world  to-day. 
It  was  a  daughter  of  that  cruel  Saxon  girl  who  in  queenly 
beauty  sat  upon  the  throne  of  England  and  held  the  scepter  of 
Christian  dominion  for  sixty  years.  What  is  the  cause  of  this 
wonderful  transformation  scene?  Simply  the  story  of  God's 
redemptive  love  given  to  us  in  the  Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ 
and  taken  to  our  ancestors  by  the  zeal  and  sacrifice  of  foreign 
missionaries. 


THE    EVANGELIZATION    OF    THE    WORLD  I99 

Fourth,  the  besotted,  degraded,  hopeless  condition  of  th<^  pagan  The  Plea  of 
world  to-day  pleads  for  immediate  rescue  in  the  name  of  Christ,  a&^o"™ 
The  horrible  story  of  the  corrupting  influence  of  paganism  upon 
the  lives  of  the  people  is  too  familiar  to  require  description  here. 
Suffice  it  to  say  they  are  the  children  of  our  common  heavenly 
Father,  and  their  cry  in  the  wilderness  should  be  heard  by  the 
Christian  Church.  The  condition  of  the  pagan  world  to-day 
is  the  same  as  it  was  in  the  nations  that  challenged  the  zeal  of 
the  Church  in  the  apostolic  age. 

"  On  that  hard  pagan  world  disgust  and  secret  loathing  fell, 
Deep  weariness  and  sated  lust  made  human  life  a  hell." 

A  despairing,  hopeless  world  cries  from  the  stygian  darkness  of 
heathenism,  "Come  over  and  help  us."  Try  to  imagine  what  our 
own  civilization  would  be  with  the  idea  of  God  as  a  loving 
Father  and  Jesus  Christ  as  Saviour  and  Lord  eliminated  from 
our  thought.  It  would  mean  the  destruction  of  all  we  hold  dear 
and  precious  in  our  modern  life.  That  is  the  condition  of  eight 
hundred  millions  of  our  brothers  and  sisters  in  the  pagan  world 
at  this  hour.  Let  the  keen  observation  and  dramatic  expression 
of  Mr.  Kipling  serve  us  here:  "The  foundations  of  their  hfe 
are  rotten — utterly,  bestially  rotten."  Hear  this  awful  indict-  The 
ment  of  Asiatic  womanhood  from  the  pen  of  Mrs.  Isabella  Bird 
Bishop:  "Of  the  Christless  population  of  the  world  over  five 
hundred  millions  are  women.  Throughout  Asia  the  natural  result 
of  the  universal  distrust  of  women  by  men,  and  of  the  degrading 
views  held  concerning  woman,  is  seclusion  behind  high  walls,  in 
separate  houses,  known  to  us  as  the  harem,  the  zenana,  and  the 
anderun.  I  have  seen  much  of  the  inmates  of  all  .  .  .  Such 
contact  has  banished  from  my  mind,  so  far  as  Asiatic  countries 
are  concerned,  all  belief  in  purity  in  woman  and  innocence  in 
childhood.  They  know  nothing.  They  have  no  ideals.  Dress, 
personal  adornment,  and  subjects  connected  with  sex  are  their 
sole  interests.  They  are  regarded  as  possessing  neither  soul  nor 
immortality.  Except  as  mothers  of  sons,  they  are  absolutely 
despised,  and  are  spoken  of  in  China  as  the  mean  ones  within  the 
gates." 

I  appeal  to  you  Christian  men  and  women,  is  the  hell  described 
by  Milton  or  Dante  comparable  with  that  picture  and  its  impli- 
cations? 


Indictment 
by  Observers 


200 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


Sixteen 
Acres  for 
Image 
Worship 


"  The  restless  millions  wait 
The  light  v/hose  dawning 
Maketh  all  things  new  : 
Christ  also  waits, 
But  men  are  slow  and  late. 
Have  we  done  what  we  could  ? 
Have  I  ?     Have  you  ?  " 

Not  long  since  I  heard  a  secretary  of  the  American  Board,  who 
had  made  a  six-months'  missionary  inspection  tour  of  missions 
through  India,  use  words  hke  these:  "I  went  into  a  pagan  temple 
and  saw  sixteen  acres  of  ground  dedicated  to  the  worship  of 
pagan  gods.  In  the  center  of  this  inclosure  was  a  small  pool 
called  the  Fountain  of  Life.  Its  contents  were  made  up  of  the 
votive  offerings  given  by  the  pilgrims  and  poured  upon  the  images 
representing  the  pagan  deities.  After  the  libations  of  water,  oil, 
and  honey  had  been  poured  on  the  god  image  remnants  ran  down 
upon  the  ground,  trampled  under  foot  of  the  thousands  of  pil- 
grims, and  thence  through  gravity  found  their  way  into  the  pool, 
or  Fountain  of  Life.  The  deluded  suppliants  for  peace  with  their 
god  came  to  this  fountain  and  dipped  their  fingers  in  it,  then 
touching  in  turn  their  hearts,  their  tongues,  and  their  foreheads, 
hoping  thus  to  find  peace  of  soul  through  the  favor  of  the  gods.  I 
saw  hundreds  go  through  this  performance,  but  not  one  face 
showed  by  any  expression  that  the  blessing  of  peace  had  been 
bestowed ;  the  blank  hopeless  look  of  paganism  was  still  there. 
Later  in  the  day  we  were  driven  to  a  community  where  native 
Christians  were  holding  a  camp  meeting.  We  arrived  at  the 
closing  moments  of  the  afternoon   service.     The   congregation 

ATriumphant   were  Standing  and  singing  heartily  the  familiar  hymn : 

Christian 

Hymn  '  There  is  a  fountain  filled  with  blood 

Drawn  from  Immanuel's  veins.' 

There  was  the  expression  of  joy  and  gladness  in  every  coun- 
tenance. The  invisible  realities  of  heaven  had  found  a  place  in 
their  souls." 

Beloved  in  the  Lord,  it  is  ours  to  help  make  the  last  verse  of 
that  grand  hymn  a  reality  in  all  the  heathen  darkness  of  our 
world : 

"  Thou  dying  Lamb  !  thy  precious  blood 

Shall  never  lose  its  power, 
Till  all  the  ransomed  world  of  God 

Are  saved,  to  sin  no  more." 


WHAT      RETRENCHMENT       MEANS 


201 


WHAT   "RETRENCHMENT"    MEANS 

Bishop   Cyrus   D.    Foss 

We  are  accustomed  to  think  of  retrenchment  as  a  very  re- 
spectable word.  It  is  suggestive  of  thrift,  economy,  careful 
expenditure,  the  cutting  off  of  all  unnecessary  expense.  But  in 
the  sense  in  which  this  topic  has  been  given  to  me,  and  under 
the  circumstances  in  which  we  are  called  to  consider  it,  it  has  a 
very  different  meaning.  It  refers  to  the  cutting  down  of  our 
missionary  appropriations  in  recent  years,  and  especially  last 
year ;  and  so,  I  am  almost  disposed  to  say,  to  drifting  astern. 

I  ask  you  to  consider  it  first  in  its  relation  to  the  Church  at 
large;  secondly,  in  relation  to  the  work  of  the  General  Mission- 
ary Committee ;  lastly,  in  relation  to  the  missionary  fields. 

I.  In  respect  to  the  Church  at  large,  in  this  sense  of  it,  retrench-  Meaning 
ment  leads  to  a  most  injurious  and  disastrous  interpretation  of  commission 
the  great  commission  of  the  Saviour,  "Go  ye  into  all  the  world, 
and  preach  the  Gospel  to  every  creature."  It  causes  misappre- 
hension and  a  dulling  of  the  conscience  and  heart  of  the  Church 
as  to  the  meaning  of  that  great  commission.  It  is  a  very  interest- 
ing and  a  very  surprising  fact  that  great  truths,  standing  to  our 
apprehension  now  as  plainly  revealed  on  the  very  surface  of  the 
inspired  book,  made  plain  by  distinct  utterances  of  the  great 
Head  of  the  Church  himself,  have  sunk  very  slowly  into  the 
heart  and  conscience  of  the  Church.  Indeed,  God's  usual  method 
of  making  operative  and  influential  any  great  truth,  vital  to  the 
life  of  the  world,  has  been  not  simply  by  putting  it  into  the  Holy 
Scriptures,  but  by  planting  it  newly  from  time  to  time  in  some 
capacious  mind  and  glowing  heart  which  obey  his  voice.  As, 
for  example,  the  truth  of  salvation  by  faith  alone,  taught  in  the  Truth  Newly 
Holy  Scriptures  with  great  distinctness,  was  very  poorly  appre-  incarnate 
bended  for  many  a  century,  until  God  vitalized  it  in  the  soul  of 
Martin  Luther.  And  so  also  the  truth  of  the  witness  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  to  personal  salvation,  taught  in  the  Holy  Scriptures  dis- 
tinctly and  in  unmistakable  terms,  was  not  a  living  truth  in  the 
Church  of  England  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  years  ago,  when 
God  put  it  into  the  soul  of  John  Wesley.  I  suppose  when  Wesley 
arose  you  could  not  have  found  one  hundred  and  fifty  men  in  all 
England  who  would   dare  say  they  knew  their  sins   forgiven; 


202 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


The 

Brotherhood 
of  Man 


A 

Proclamation 
Inadequately 
Proclaimed 


and  God  took  John  Wesley  in  hand  and,  through  fifteen  years 
of  most  wonderful  training,  brought  him  from  the  condition  of 
a  servant  of  God,  a  very  bondslave  of  Jesus  Christ,  into  the 
living  apprehension  of  his  relation  to  God  as  a  son ;  and  the 
world  learned  the  lesson,  and  now  millions  tell  the  same  glad 
story. 

So  it  has  been  also  with  this  great  vitalizing  truth  which  under- 
lies all  missionary  activity  and  all  sociological  uplift,  and  which 
finds  expression  in  the  great  commission,  the  truth  of  the  brother- 
hood of  men  through  the  Fatherhood  of  God.  "Go  ye  into  all 
the  world,  and  preach  the  Gospel  to  every  creature,"  said  Jesus. 
It  would  seem  that  when  that  utterance  had  been  given,  and 
especially  that  when  the  day  of  Pentecost  had  come,  every 
apostle  should  have  gone  forth  with  a  profound  conviction  of  the 
brotherhood  of  the  race.  But  Simon  Peter  was  there ;  he  heard 
the  commission,  he  was  present  on  the  day  of  Pentecost,  and 
preached  that  wonderful  sermon  which  led  to  three  thousand 
conversions ;  yet  he  did  not  take  in  this  lesson ;  and  six  years 
afterward  we  hear  him  saying,  as  though  through  the  teaching 
of  an  angel  he  had  just  got  a  patent  on  a  new  truth,  "Verily  I 
perceive  that  God  is  no  respecter  of  persons."  This  same  truth 
has  been  hidden  in  the  hearts  of  some  men  all  down  through  the 
ages;  and  we  have  reason  to  hope  that  this  truth  of  the  brother- 
hood of  man,  which  lies  at  the  basis  of  all  missionary  endeavor, 
is  to  be  made  vital  in  the  world,  again  and  again  and  again,  not 
by  new  revelations  from  on  high,  but  in  consonance  with  John 
Robinson's  grand  old  aphorism,  "More  truth  is  yet  to  break  out 
of  God's  most  holy  word." 

Now,  I  say  that  retrenchment,  in  the  sense  in  which  we  are 
obliged  to  use  the  word  to-night,  utterly  misinterprets  this  fun- 
damental postulate  of  the  missionary  movement.  We  are  told 
that  once  several  British  soldiers  were  accosted  by  a  Christian 
minister  with  this  question,  "Suppose  your  queen  were  to  make 
a  proclamation  to  be  sent  to  all  parts  of  the  habitable  globe,  how 
long  would  it  take  her  army  and  her  navy  to  carry  it  ?"  and  that 
those  brave  fellows,  after  thinking  the  whole  matter  over  a  few 
minutes,  made  answer,  "We  think,  sir,  it  could  be  done  in  eighteen 
months."  But  the  greatest  proclamation  ever  given,  uttered  by 
the  Saviour  himself  for  the  whole  race  of  humankind,  has  been 
in  the  world  for  nineteen  hundred  years  almost,  and  yet  to  this 


WHAT      RETRENCHMENT       MEANS  203 

hour  more  than  one  half  of  the  people  now  living  on  the  globe, 
to  whom  that  proclamation  was  sent,  have  never  yet  heard  it. 
No  wonder  that  Dr.  DufT  should  say,  "Up  to  this  time  the  Church    , 
has  been  merely  playing  at  missions." 

At  our  General  Missionary  Committee  last  year  a  sharp  cut  A  Cut  in 
was  made  in-  the  appropriations  all  along  the  line.  What  can  the  jjoq"^"*" 
Church  think  except  that  we  regard  missions  as  a  mere  byplay, 
to  be  attended  to  when  convenient  and  sc  far  as  convenient ;  for 
in  this  very  same  time  I  would  have  you  remember  that  there  has 
been  no  alarming  depression  in  the  business  of  the  country,  and 
other  Christian  operations  except  missions  have  had  no  serious 
setback.  In  these  very  years  in  which  this  cut  in  missions  has 
been  made  I  have  not  heard  that  there  have  been  ten  churches 
closed  here  in  Cleveland,  or  thirty  in  Chicago ;  I  do  not  read  that 
in  every  Conference  in  the  connection  Sunday  schools  are  being 
disbanded  and  ministers  dismissed.  I  do  not  learn  that  the 
country  has  been  on  the  verge  of  ruin  by  some  awful  depression 
and  panic.  So  far  from  this,  our  wealth  has  rolled  up  until 
within  the  recent  decade  it  has  been  doubled  and  doubled  again. 
In  my  boyhood  we  were  astounded  by  the  w^ord  "millionaire." 
Within  twenty  years  we  have  been  accustomed  to  "multimillion- 
aire," and  presently  we  shall  be  accustomed  to  "billionaire."  That 
"beastly  prosperity"  which  Matthew  Arnold  flung  as  a  sarcasm 
at  the  great  metropolis  of  the  West — we  had  better  find  out  how 
much  truth  there  may  be  in  it  for  the  whole  land ;  and  yet  in 
such  times  as  this  we  have  been  obliged  to  make  an  eight  per 
cent  cut  in  our  missionary  appropriations. 

2.  Then,  as  to  the  General  Missionary  Committee,  a  few  words,  The  General 
and  only  a  very  few.  I  well  recall  my  first  impressions  concerning  committeT 
that  committee,  received  from  a  speech  of  that  greatest  of  mission- 
ary secretaries.  Dr.  John  P.  Durbin.  For  half  an  hour,  by  his 
marvelous  eloquence,  he  enthralled  a  vast  congregation  with  an 
account  of  the  place  of  meeting,  the  personnel,  and  the  methods  of 
operation  of  the  General  Missionary  Committee.  In  my  own  pres- 
ent office  and  before  I  entered  it,  altogether  I  have  been  a  member 
of  the  General  Missionary  Committee  about  thirty  times  in  suc- 
cessive years.  The  methods  of  its  work  are  known  to  many  here ; 
I  cannot  describe  them  to  others  wdio  are  not  familiar  with  them, 
but  this  much  is  very  clear:  The  appropriations  made  by  such 
a  body  ought  to  be  fixed  under  circumstances  which  make  possible 


204 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


the  careful  consideration  of  every  Mission  under  the  care  of  the 
Church ;  ought  to  be  made  under  circumstances  such  that  the 
committee  can  say  concerning  this  missionary  field,  where  the 
need  is  most  urgent,  and  the  opportunity  magnificent,  "There 
must  be  this  year  a  large  increase;"  and  concerning  this,  "Is  it 
not  possible  in  this  older  Mission,  which  has  had  such  good  suc- 
cess and  which  is  coming  so  rapidly  toward  self-support,  that 
something  may  be  taken  off  and  be  bestowed  upon  some  newer 
and  more  needy  field?"  But  this  "retrenchment"  has  compelled 
the  committee  to  make  appropriations  in  a  manner  totally  illog- 
ical, and  we  were  obliged  to  scale  down  everywhere  eight  per  cent ; 
until  every  man  there  felt  almost  guilty  of  a  cruel  wrong.  The 
meeting  last  year  and  one  or  two  other  meetings  of  the  com- 
mittee in  recent  years  have  made  us  feel  it  the  most  painful 
week's  business  in  the  whole  year.  We  have  been  obliged  to 
make  the  appropriations  very  much  as  the  officers  of  a  starving 
crew  on  a  dismasted  hulk  in  mid-ocean  distribute  totally  inade- 
quate rations,  so  as  to  cause  the  least  complaint.  My  brethren 
on  the  General  Missionary  Committee  understand  what  I  am 
talking  about.  We  feel  that  we  must  come,  in  some  near  to- 
morrow, to  a  time  when  we  can  graduate  these  appropriations  in 
a  better  way. 

3.  But  all  this  simply  leads  up  to  the  next  topic — the  effect  of 
retrenchment,  as  I  have  defined  it,  upon  the  mission  fields.  We 
went  forth  in  the  order  of  God's  providence  into  distant  lands  to 
preach  the  Gospel.  I  cannot  glance  over  the  fields  in  this  country 
at  all.  I  cannot  ask  you  to  survey  the  fields  which  have  been  laid 
before  you  in  countries  partly  or  wholly  civilized  and  under  the 
dominion  of  a  false  Church.  Let  us  glance  at  the  heathen  world, 
and  as  we  do  so  I  wish  you  to  understand  how  painfully,  how 
almost  disastrously,  this  retrenchment  has  affected  some  of  those 
fields  and  must  still  do  so  unless  it  gives  place  to  larger  contribu- 
tions from  the  Church.  We  went  abroad ;  we  undertook  work 
in  those  heathen  lands.  God  blessed  the  work ;  we  very  soon 
had  some  success.  Initial  successes  led  to  larger  ones,  and  these 
to  larger ;  and  failures  in  some  fields  called  for  increased  appro- 
priations, no  less  than  successes.  We  have  demonstrated  these 
things  already,  that  the  three  great  methods  of  missionary  opera- 
tion in  heathen  lands,  set  before  us  by  the  three  forms  of  the 
great  commission  of  the   Saviour,  are  definitely  operative  and 


WHAT      KETKENCIIMENT       MEANS  205 

i 

successful.  What  are  they?  One  form  of  the  great  commission 
is  this :  "As  ye  go,  heal  the  sick,  and  say  unto  them,  The  kingdom 
of  God  is  come  unto  you ;"  that  is  philanthropy.  Another  is,  "Go 
ye,  teach  all  nations ;"  that  is  education.  Another,  "Go  ye  into 
all  the  world,  and  preach  the  Gospel  to  every  creature;"  that  is 
evangelism.  Philanthropy,  education,  evangelism — these  are  the 
methods  by  which  at  Christ's  command  the  Church  has  gone  forth 
to  attempt  to  save  the  world,  and  these  methods  have  been  grandly 
successful  wherever  faithfully  applied. 

Now,  what  does  initial  success  call  for  ?  Larger  appropriations.  Results  of 
We  go  forth  as  an  army  of  conquest,  and  what  nation  has  ever  ^^^^^^ 
sent  forth  an  army  without  a  perfect  understanding  before  the 
army  starts  that  successes  and  partial  failures  alike  call  for  rein- 
forcements and  larger  operations?  When  we  began  our  civil 
war  and  had  the  disaster  of  Bull  Run,  did  that  stop  our  opera- 
tions? Bull  Run  multiplied  the  Union  army  and  toned  up  the 
muscle  of  the  North.  Great  Britain  undertook  war  in  South 
Africa  and  had  disaster  after  disaster,  to  what  effect?  Every 
disaster  led  immediately  to  the  sending  out  of  more  forces  and 
more  appliances.  We  undertook  war  with  Spain,  under  hard 
pressure,  with  great  reluctance,  to  deliver  Cuba.  Suppose  now 
that  Dewey's  fleet  had  been  sunk  in  the  harbor  of  Manila ;  sup- 
pose that  Shafter's  army  had  been  ground  into  powder,  would  we 
have  stopped?  No,  every  man  of  you  knows  that  soldiers  and 
ships  of  war  would  have  been  multiplied  until  a  just  contention 
should  end  in  success  and  triumph.  So  it  must  be  in  this  mission- 
ary endeavor.  We  initiate  great  undertakings ;  we  get  the  be- 
ginnings of  great  successes,  and  then  have  here  and  there  some 
failures.  The  lesson  of  the  whole  of  them  is  not  retrenchment, 
but  progress,  progress  until  this  world  is  redeemed  and  saved. 

I  fully  understand,  and  so  do  you,  that  America  can  never  save  Office  of  the 
India,  nor  China,  nor  Japan,  nor  Korea.  I  perfectly  understand  church^" 
that  every  country  must,  under  God,  save  itself,  in  the  last  event. 
But  what  is  the  office  of  the  Christian  Church  in  regard  to  the 
heathen  world  ?  It  is  to  make  a  fair  beginning ;  it  is  to  plant  the 
institutions  of  Christianity  ;  it  is  to  build  hospitals  and  orphanages 
and  schools  and  colleges,  and  to  begin  the  great  work  of  evan- 
gelism, and  to  train  up  a  native  army  for  conquest,  and  to  furnish 
the  brain  and  the  heart  and  the  supervision  and  the  example  and 
the  experience  needful  until  the  dead  bones  have  come  to  life 


2o6  THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 

and  begun  to  march,  and  until  the  native  Church  has  grown 
strong  enough  to  carry  the  Gospel  to  other  lands,  and  take  its 
place  among  the  forces  for  the  conquest  of  the  world.  And  that 
work  is  only  fairly  begun  in  any  of  our  heathen  Missions  to 
this  hour. 

Let  me  show  you  how  this  necessity  for  retrenchment  has 
worked  in  one  land  of  the  heathen  world  of  which  I  know  the 
most,  because  I  have  visited  it  and  have  within  a  few  years  given 
careful  inspection  and  supervision  to  the  Missions  and  Con- 
ferences there.  The  same  principles  would  be  reached  by  a  similar 
statement  from  any  one  of  my  colleagues  who  has  similarly  inves- 
tigated China  or  Japan  or  Korea ;  but  I  happen  to  know  most 
about  India. 
Heathenism  And  now  come  with  me,  and  for  a  little  while  forget  that  you 

at  Benares  ^j.g  jj.^  Christian  America.  I  wish  I  could  lay  a  magic  carpet  that 
would  transport  this  audience  for  a  few  minutes  to  the  very  heart 
of  the  heathen  world,  and  show  you  a  little  of  what  I  saw  and 
heard  and  felt.  In  India  lies  a  vast  territory,  the  peninsula  of 
Hindustan,  as  large  as  the  whole  of  the  United  States  east  of  the 
Mississippi,  with  a  population  of  two  hundred  and  eighty-seven 
millions  of  human  souls.  Come  with  me  to  Benares  and  look  at 
heathenism  as  you  may  see  it  there.  Watch  that  bathing  for 
religious  purposes  which  goes  on  every  day  through  all  the  morn- 
ing, for  two  miles  along  this  sacred  river,  the  Ganges,  the  most 
sacred  stream  in  all  India.  On  the  second  story  of  a  house  boat 
I  rode  up  and  down  and  witnessed  the  bathing  of  more  than  ten 
thousand  persons,  men  and  women  promiscuously  but  decently, 
for  religious  purposes.  It  is  the  vilest  stream  I  ever  saw,  vile  be- 
yond description,  dead  bodies  of  animals  floating  down  its  waters, 
bamboo  rafts  with  burned  bodies  upon  them ;  and  yet  they  dip  con- 
secrated brazen  bowls  into  it  and  drink  it  by  the  pint  for  internal 
cleansing,  and  take  it  home  as  a  precious  gift  to  their  friends. 
After  observing  this  bathing  I  came  ashore.  There  are  thousands 
of  shrines  and  hundreds  of  temples  in  Benares.  I  went  into  a  great 
many,  and  in  every  one  the  symbols  and  implements  of  the  idola- 
try of  those  people  are  so  obscene  that  no  photograph  dare  lay 
them  on  your  table,  and  no  words  dare  describe  them.  And  this  is 
Benares — the  sacred  city.  As  I  came  away  from  it  I  thought  of 
Bishop  Thomson's  words  on  the  same  spot.  He  writes  in  one  of 
his  books,  "It  seemed  to  me  that  if  I  had  taken  another  step  down- 


Allahabad 


WHAT      RETRENCHMENT       MEANS  207 

i 

ward  I  should  have  come  to  the  open  mouth  of  hell."  After  that 
visit,  as  I  was  riding  on  the  cars  at  night  and  their  jolting 
would  waken  me,  it  often  seemed  to  me  as  if  I  myself  was  sub- 
merged in  those  filthy  waters,  and  yet  reaching  after  pearls. 

Come  with  me  to  Allahabad,  another  sacred  city  at  the  junc-  At 
tion  of  the  Ganges  and  the  Jumna.  Annual  bathing  takes  place 
there.  People  are  going  to  and  fro.  Fifteen  thousand  the  day  that 
I  was  there  were  bathing  in  those  sacred  waters.  Beggars  on  every 
hand,  the  most  blatant  and  impertinent  you  have  ever  met,  with 
every  simulation  of  deformity,  which  the  sight  of  a  policeman 
would  quickly  cause  to  disappear ;  and  devotees  in  all  forms  of 
self-torture — some  lying  in  the  dust,  covered  all  but  their  nostrils ; 
some  with  one  foot  planted  above  the  other  knee,  firmly  fixed 
there.  I  saw  such  a  man  and  his  left  foot  had  never  been  down 
from  his  right  knee  in  ten  years.  Others  were  on  sharp  spikes, 
sitting  on  them,  standing  on  them,  reclining  on  them,  six  or  seven 
hundred  little  spikes  driven  into  a  plank  eighteen  inches  wide. 
Seven  years  one  poor  fellow  had  been  on  one  of  these  spike  beds, 
and  my  friend  bought  from  him  two  of  these  spikes,  and  gave 
me  one  which  I  carry  with  me  always,  as  my  own  reminder  of 
what  it  is  to  be  a  heathen  and  of  the  joy  and  blessedness  of  being 
a  Christian.  But  I  will  not  multiply  such  scenes.  You  will 
quickly  take  in  a  vivid  sense  of  the  unutterable  intellectual  twist 
and  moral  degradation  and  spiritual  ruin  which  heathenism  has 
brought  to  these  two  hundred  and  eighty-seven  millions  of  your 
brothers  and  sisters. 

But  there  is  a  brighter  side  to  it.  Christianity  has  done  its  The  Glory  of 
work  there,  magnificent — imperfect,  so  far,  but  with  successes 
W'hich  greatly  cheer  all  hearts.  I  wish  that  these  missionaries,  of 
whom  I  am  glad  to  see  so  many  on  this  platform,  could  tell  you, 
little  by  little  and  day  after  day,  the  story  of  what  has  been 
familiar  to  some  of  them  for  forty  years.  But  the  Gospel  went 
there  and  took  hold  with  wondrous  power.  It  was  my  pleasure 
while  there  to  go  far  north,  to  the  very  foothills  of  the  Himalayas, 
and  from  those  hills  to  look  upon  that  magnificent  range  of 
mountains,  snow-clad,  twenty-five  thousand  feet  in  height,  equal 
to  Mount  Washington  on  top  of  Pike's  Peak,  and  several  thou- 
sand feet  beside.  Out  of  the  side  of  one  of  tl.ese  great  peaks 
bursts  the  Ganges,  from  a  magnificent  glacier.  I  saw  them  at 
sunset  retiring  into  the  grayness  of  the  night,  and  in  the  morning 


Nature 


2o8 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


The  Glory  of 
the  Faith 


Eleven  Years 
of  Marvelous 
Progress 


Beal 
Conversions 


saw  them  come  out  under  the  hght  of  the  golden  sun  in  magnifi- 
cent state — a  sight  I  can  never  have  equaled  unless  I  go  there 
again.  But  when  I  came  down  from  those  mountains  to  Naini 
Tal,  lake  of  the  Goddess  Naini,  and  found  on  one  end  of  it  our 
Hindustani  church  and  on  the  other  our  English-speaking  church, 
on  one  side  of  it  our  boys'  school  and  on  the  other  our  girls' 
school,  I  said  to  myself,  "The  lake  of  the  goddess  no  longer — it 
should  be  Wesley  Lake."  And  for  four  days  I  witnessed  a  sub- 
limer  sight  than  those  peaks  of  the  Himalayas.  It  was  a  District 
Conference  and  Epworth  League  and  camp  meeting  and  every- 
thing else  you  could  pack  into  four  days.  And  all  this  on  the 
spot  where  about  forty  years  before  William  Butler  reached 
forth  the  rod  of  faith  and  smote  the  rock  of  heathenism,  saying 
in  God's  name,  "Thou  shalt  break,"  and  lo,  the  rill,  and  presently 
the  stream,  and  now  the  river  of  American  Methodism  in  India, 
which  has  been  flowing  for  forty  years.  From  that  small  begin- 
ning has  come  a  most  marvelous  progress.  The  little  one  has 
become  a  thousand. 

Let  me  tell  you  in  just  two  or  three  bits  of  figures  this :  When 
I  was  there  five  years  ago  I  had  been  preceded  eleven  years  before 
by  Bishop  Ninde.  Let  figures  tell  the  story.  I  give  you  the 
figures  at  the  beginning  of  the  eleven  years,  and  then  at  the  end : 
At  the  beginning  7,000  communicants,  when  I  was  there  77,000 ; 
at  the  beginning  of  those  eleven  years  96  churches,  when  I  was 
there  233  churches;  at  the  beginning  313  Sunday  schools,  when 
I  was  there  2,400  Sunday  schools ;  at  the  beginning  14,000 
Sunday  school  scholars,  when  I  was  there  83,000  Sunday  school 
scholars.  Such  were  the  magnificent  successes  which  in  the  space 
of  eleven  years  our  Church  had  wrought  in  India,  multiplying 
fortyfold  on  one  line,  elevenfold  on  another,  six  on  another — an 
average  of  about  ninefold.  Is  there  any  Church  that  can  show 
greater  Church  and  missionary  progress  in  the  same  time? 

But  it  has  not  been  simply  figures.  Were  these  people  con- 
verted ?  Does  the  Gospel  save  them  ?  I  was  led  to  search  into  that 
question  with  great  care  and  a  little  anxiety ;  for  on  the  ship,  as  I 
was  going  over  from  Italy  to  India,  I  met  a  noble  laird,  Lord 
Kinnaird,  who  talked  religion  as  familiarly  as  most  men  talk 
politics.  He  had  been  greatly  blessed  under  the  ministry  of 
Dwight  L.  Moody  and  Henry  Drummond,  and  was  going  out  to 
India  with  his  wife  to  inspect  zenana  work.     He  said  to  me  one 


WHAT      RETRENCHMENT       MEANS  209 

day,  "I  hear  that  Bishop  Thoburn  has  been  baptizing  a  great 
many  thousands  of  converts,  he  and  his  assistants ;  are  not  they 
raw  heathen?"  "Yes,  my  lord."  "But  are  not  they  very  raw 
heathen?"  I  think  they  are,  my  lord."  I  was  not  going  to  own 
anything  to  him  about  my  anxiety,  but  his  inquiry  set  me  to 
searching.  I  determined  to  find  out,  and  this  is  a  thing  which  an 
old  class  leader,  as  I  am,  can  find  out ;  there  is  something  that 
tells  the  story  whether  the  converts  are  converted  or  not.  When 
I  got  out  to  the  camp  meeting  at  the  foot  of  the  Himalaya 
Mountains  I  think  I  found  out.  I  was  there  four  days,  during  all 
the  incidents  of  a  crowded  and  most  delightful  camp  meeting,  a  Native 
a  District  Conference,  love  feasts,  Epworth  League  meeting,  anti-  2^^^. 
tobacco  meeting,  and  experience  meetings  of  all  kinds ;  and  never 
in  my  life,  in  any  period  of  the  old-time  camp  meeting  fervor, 
have  I  heard  more  sermons  and  exhortations  and  prayers  and 
experiences  on  the  subject  of  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit  as  a 
witnessing  Spirit  to  present  salvation,  and  for  enduement  of 
power  for  the  work  of  God,  than  I  heard  under  those  banyan 
trees  in  northern  India  in  the  four  days  of  that  camp  meeting, 
at  which  there  were  present  more  than  two  thousand  Hindustani 
converts.  In  the  testimonies  at  the  love  feast  there  was  no  word 
of  cant  or  sanctimoniousness ;  but  among  the  one  hundred  and 
eighteen  persons  who  spoke  there  were  twelve  in  succession  who 
would  have  done  honor  to  any  love  feast  in  this  country ;  and  I 
believe  that  those  twelve  men  are  better  men  than  the  twelve 
apostles  w^ere  until  after  the  day  of  Pentecost.  So  I  became  con- 
vinced that  the  converts  were  converted. 

Now,  take  into  consideration  the  thought  that  there  are  more  a  Bishop's 
than  one  hundred  thousand  of  such  converts.  You  may  think  H°P^8 
I  have  wandered  a  little,  but  this  applies  directly  to  the  fact  I 
have  in  hand  in  this  way:  What  has  been  the  result  of  this 
retrenchment  on  this  rapid  evangelization  going  on  in  India?  I 
think  Bishop  Thoburn  is  not  here  to-night,  and  I  will  say  a  word 
about  him  which  I  would  not  care  to  say  in  his  presence.  When 
he  was  elected  missionary  bishop  he  said  in  many  a  congregation, 
once  or  twice  when  I  was  present,  that  he  soberly  hoped  to  live 
to  see  the  time  when  there  would  be  ten  thousand  baptisms  of 
native  heathen  in  northern  India  in  a  single  year.  The  Church 
listened  in  amazement  and  wondered — you  wondered,  whether 
these  were  the  extravagant  utterances  of  a  half-crazed  fanatic, 
14 


2IO 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


Hasan  Rasa 
Kahu 


A  Field  Kipe 
to  Harvest 


or  the  inspired  words  of  a  veritable  prophet  of  God  in  this  genera- 
tion. I  am  happy  to  say  that  from  the  start  I  took  the  latter  al- 
ternative, and  I  have  thought  from  then  to  now  of  this  wonderful 
little  bunch  of  sanctified  common  sense  and  prophetic  optimism 
called  James  M.  Thoburn  as  one  of  the  great  gifts  of  God  to  this 
generation.  He  hoped  to  live  to  see  the  time  when  there  would 
be  ten  thousand  baptized  in  a  single  year.  When  I  was  in  India 
five  years  ago  there  had  been  in  the  two  years  immediately  pre- 
ceding thirty-two  thousand  baptisms. 

But  what  has  that  to  do  with  the  question?  You  will  see  in 
just  another  moment.  When  I  was  at  that  camp  meeting  in  north- 
ern India  I  became  acquainted  with  a  splendid  man,  named 
Hasan  Rasa  Kahn,  a  tall,  typical  native  of  Hindustan,  himself  a 
Mohammedan,  dark  skinned,  not  like  a  negro,  but  as  though 
darkness  had  been  sifted  down  upon  his  classical  features  out 
of  the  night,  a  brilliant  black  eye,  gleaming  almost,  a  man  of 
high  culture  and  of  great  gifts,  a  man  who,  if  he  could  have 
spoken  the  English  tongue,  would  have  been  an  acceptable  and 
popular  pastor  in  any  church  in  America.  That  man,  converted 
from  Mohammedanism,  became  a  zealous  missionary  at  once,  be- 
came a  local  preacher,  then  a  circuit  preacher,  then  a  district 
preacher.  There  were  hundreds  of  heathen,  even  thousands,  con- 
verted under  his  ministry.  He  was  made  a  presiding  elder,  and 
then  they  tried  to  get  him  away  into  the  service  of  the  English 
government,  as  secretary  of  a  great  commission,  at  a  salary  four 
times  as  great  as  he  could  ever  get  in  our  Church  as  a  missionary. 
He  promptly  answered,  "Gentlemen,  I  am  a  secretary  for  Jesus 
Christ,  and  cannot  leave  this  higher  calling."  When  I  met  him 
at  this  camp  meeting  he  soberly  said  to  me,  "Bishop  Foss,  in  my 
district,  which  contains  about  six  hundred  mud-hut  villages,  I 
can  bring  to  baptism  in  twenty-four  months  fifty  thousand  per- 
sons with  fair  intelligence,  if  only  the  Church  will  provide  'hold- 
ers-up,'  "  as  he  called  them ;  that  is  to  say,  plain,  simple  pastor- 
teachers,  who  know  how  to  read  the  New  Testament  and  have 
the  fire  of  God  in  their  hearts.  You  can  get  them  for  thirty  dol- 
lars a  year.  "Provide  me  a  few  hundred  'holders-up,'  and  I  will 
bring  fifty  thousand  people  in  my  district  to  baptism  in  twenty- 
four  months."  The  white  missionaries  from  America  smiled  and 
said  he  was  very  enthusiastic,  and  our  paper,  the  Indian  Witness, 
doubted  and  thus  put  him  on  his  mettle.     Two  months  later  he 


without 
Workers 


WHAT    ''retrenchment       MEANS  211 

came  again  and  said  to  the  Annual  Conference,  "The  doubts 
expressed  about  my  work  two  months  ago  have  led  me  to  take  a 
census,  and  I  find  out  that  there  are  fifty-five  thousand  persons 
ready  within  a  short  time  to  come  to  Christian  baptism,  if  only 
you  can  provide  'holders-up.'  "  I  speak  of  him  the  more  freely 
because  God  has  released  him  from  such  labors,  to  such  a  reward, 
O,  such  a  reward,  as  is  given  where  "he  that  winneth  souls  is 
wise"  is  the  standard  of  judgment. 

But  now,  what  about  retrenchment,  and  how^  does  it  affect  this?  No  Advance 
That  very  night  this  man  told  me:  "I  don't  dare  to  ask  my  preach- 
ers to  bring  many  people  to  baptism ;  unless  we  can  provide  the 
'holders-up'  we  must  let  them  alone.  They  wouldn't  be  taught, 
they  wouldn't  understand  about  Jesus  as  we  want  them  to  do ; 
they  w'ould  drift  back  to  the  old  idolatry  and  be  worse  ofif  than 
before."  And  the  next  year — O  Church  of  God,  I  say  it  with 
burning  shame — in  the  Conference  of  which  he  was  a  member 
twenty-three  of  these  pastor-teachers,  who  had  been  employed  the 
previous  year,  were  dismissed  because  our  India  brethren  could 
not,  with  all  their  economy,  provide  nine  hundred  and  sixty  dol- 
lars to  keep  them  going  for  another  year.  And  so  what  does  re- 
trenchment mean?  It  means  this,  that  the  Methodist  Church,  in 
the  persons  of  your  missionaries,  is  lining  up  before  this  dusky 
crowd  who  want  to  forsake  idolatry  and  come  to  baptism,  and  say- 
ing with  batons  raised  like  those  of  policemen:  "Stand  back, 
stand  back ;  we  are  not  ready  for  you.  The  Church  at  home  has 
cut  off  eight  per  cent.  We  don't  want  you."  Our  missionaries 
are  doing  that  thing  in  your  name,  because — pardon  me  if  my 
language  is  too  intense — a  laggard  and  reluctant  Church  com- 
mands it- 

I  referred  just  now  to  Bishop  Thoburn.  In  India  not  only  our  Bishop 
missionaries,  but  the  officers  of  the  government  (who  through  Estimates 
him  distributed  five  hundred  tons  of  that  precious  cargo  of  corn 
and  beans  and  wheat  sent  from  San  Francisco  for  the  starving 
poor  at  the  time  of  the  famine  in  India),  regard  him  as  a  veritable 
prophet  in  this  generation.  Did  you  hear  him  say  to-day  that  he 
believes  that  under  conditions  which  the  Church  ought  to  make 
practicable  there  may  be  a  million  Methodists  gathered  in  India 
within  three  years,  and  ten  million  within  his  lifetime,  if  God  shall 
spare  him?  God  grant  to  spare  him  for  work  here  for  other  years, 
and  then  for  Beulah  land  to  watch  the  march  of  progress  which 


212 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


New 

Missionaries 

Needed 


Methodism's 
Opportunity 


you  will  make  possible,  will  you  not — will  you  not?  My  heart 
misgave  me  a  little  at  his  great  predictions  to-day,  but  you  had 
better  believe  him;  he  has  been  right  before.  Trust  every  mis- 
sionary you  have  in  India,  trust  every  bishop  who  goes  and  looks 
over  the  fields  and  tells  you  that  if  the  Church  would  only  make 
possible  the  addition  of  twenty  per  cent  to  the  missionary  appro- 
priation to  India  this  year,  then  twenty  per  cent  more  next  year, 
and  so  on,  that  mighty  works  will  be  done.  This  must  be  done, 
in  order,  first  of  all,  that  we  may  send  out  American  missionaries 
— grand,  strong  young  men  who  shall  take  the  places  of  Thoburn 
and  of  Parker  and  of  Humphrey  and  of  others  who  will  soon  go 
up  to  their  reward — who  shall  be  God's  appointed  leaders  of  the 
India  army^  and  shall  furnish  the  inspiration  and  the  experience 
and  the  Methodist  point  of  view  for  the  India  Methodist  Church ; 
then  we  must  increase  the  schools  and  colleges  and  give  them 
endowments,  and  increase  the  number  of  those  "holders-up" — 
trust  the  men  who  tell  you  that  if  you  do  these  things  the  Church 
will  grow  amazingly.  I  seem  to  hear  that  wonderful  man,  Hasan 
Rasa  Kahn,  calling  from  heaven  to-night  to  you  to  provide  these 
*'holders-up"  by  the  thousand,  to  take  care  of  the  converts  ready 
to  come  to  us  in  India. 

I  borrow  for  my  final  thought  an  illustration  from  Dr.  Richard 
S.  Storrs.  When  Donatello,  the  great  sculptor  of  the  figure  of  St. 
George  on  the  facade  of  the  Church  of  San  Michele,  in  Flor- 
ence, had  finished  his  work,  all  Florence  waited  for  the  prince  of 
sculptors,  Michael  Angelo,  to  come  out  and  look  it  over.  At 
length  he  came  and  looked  upon  this  new  work  of  highest  art. 
He  found  the  pose  to  be  perfect,  the  mien  magnificent,  the  brow 
mantling  with  genius,  the  marble  eye  shining  with  light,  the  foot 
ready  to  step  forth,  the  plastic  marble  turned  by  genius  into  a 
living  thing ;  and  when  he  had  looked  it  over,  at  last  he  said, 
"Now,  march !"  It  seemed  ready  to  step  down  from  its  pedestal, 
to  be  a  thing  of  life.  O  Church  of  the  living  God,  O  ye  Meth- 
odists of  to-day,  what  shall  I  say  when  I  think  of  what  Methodism 
is  and  of  what  the  Church  of  God  now  is ;  when  I  think  of  the 
proved  adaptation  of  Christianity  to  the  conquest  of  the  world,  and 
of  the  proved  adaptation  of  MethocUsm,  because  of  its  peculiar  ex- 
perimental power  and  because  of  its  magnificent  organization,  to 
do  the  work  of  God  in  saving  men  in  all  lands?  When  I  think  of 
this,  when  I  think  of  the  resources  which  have  multiplied  in  our 


IT   TENDETII    TO    TOVERTY  2I3 

hands  until  we  have  weahh  enough  to  he  gathered  from  the 
people,  not  from  the  rich  alone,  nor  the  middle  classes,  but  the 
poor  also,  to  do  anything  that  we  want  to  do  and  to  which  the 
Spirit  of  the  living  God  inspires  us ;  and  when  I  think  that  all 
this  machinery  and  agency  which  God's  providence  and  grace 
have  put  into- our  power  are  so  nearly  complete,  and  at  any  rate 
are  so  proved  to  be  efficient  for  the  work  of  God ;  when  I  think 
that  the  eternal  God  still  lives  on  the  throne,  and  that  we  are  living 
under  the  dispensation  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  that  the  Holy  Ghost  is 
poured  out  and  has  transformed  at  least  one  hundred  thousand 
hearts  under  our  care  in  India,  and  is  ready  for  the  transforma- 
tion of  millions  more ; — I  feel  like  saying  to  the  Methodism  of 
to-day,  "Now,  march!  Arise,  shine,  for  thy  light  is  come,  and  the 
glory  of  God  is  risen  upon  thee !"' 


"IT   TENDETH   TO    POVERTY" 

The   Rev.   J.   W.   Bashford,   D.D. 

"See  that  ye  abound  in  this  grace  also" 

In  the  whole  history  of  Methodism  the  needs  of  the  world  and  How  Meet 
the  opportunities  of  the  Church  have  never  been  so  strongly  pre-  *^®  ^""^ 
sented  as  at  this  Convention.  As  I  have  been  sitting  here  and 
listening  for  two  days  the  question  has  begun  to  burn  in  my 
heart,  "What  are  we  going  to  do  in  the  crisis  ?"  Surely  it  is  time 
that  we  make  a  change  in  the  program  and  begin  to  discuss  ways 
and  means.  If  we  listen  longer  to  such  thrilling  presentations  of 
the  world's  need  we  shall  either  become  insane  or  go  home  hard- 
ened, as  from  a  battle  in  which  we  paid  no  heed  to  the  cries  of  the 
wounded.  May  every  soul  from  this  hour  to  the  close  of  the 
Convention  begin  to  ask  himself  the  question,  "How  shall  we 
meet  the  crisis?"  In  case  you  do  not  accept  my  answer  to  the 
question,  perhaps  the  Holy  Spirit  will  give  you  a  better  answer. 
I  believe,  however,  that  I  speak  after  the  mind  of  the  Spirit ;  and 
I  pray  that  the  Spirit  may  impress  some  solution  of  the  problem 
upon  your  minds  and  hearts  as  strongly  as  he  has  impressed  the 
following  solution  upon  me. 

The  chief  hindrance  to  the  speedy  evangelization  of  the  world  The  Chief 
is  the  lack  of  money.  With  the  walls  of  nations  and  races  fallen  ^^^drance 
down  on  the  one  side,  and  with  literally  hundreds  of  young  people 


214 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


Systematic 
and 

Proportional 
Giving 


Ad  Apostolic 
Injunction 


The  Church's 
Mistake 


of  culture  and  consecration  eager  to  enter  the  field,  Christians 
must  either  stop  praying  for  more  openings  and  more  laborers 
for  the  harvest,  or  else  they  must  begin  giving. 

No  enduring  increase  in  our  resources  can  be  secured  without 
systematic  giving.  The  Church  can  never  capture  the  world  for 
Christ  so  long  as  our  gifts  rest  upon  spasmodic  emotions  rather 
than  upon  conscience.  Again,  our  giving  must  be  in  proportion 
to  our  income.  The  whole  history  of  the  Christian  Church  does 
not  show  a  single  mission  established  or  a  single  church  main- 
tained by  the  pernicious  appeals  for  each  member  to  give  one 
dollar.  That  cry  at  once  lowers  the  standard  of  the  wealthiest 
members  to  a  pittance ;  and  the  poorer  'members  know  that  Christ 
does  not  demand  that  they  give  exactly  the  same  amount  as  the 
richest  member.  It  is  entirely  proper  to  compare  our  average 
contributions  of  some  fifty  cents  per  member  with  the  average 
contribution  of  one  dollar  and  thirty  cents  per  member  by  the 
Presbyterians,  and  to  ask  for  an  average  of  one  dollar  per  member 
from  Methodists.  But  an  assessment  of  one  dollar  per  member 
is  false  in  principle  and  disappointing  in  practice.  We  can  hope 
for  no  general  and  permanent  increase  until  we  insist  upon  the 
apostolic  injunction  of  systematic  and  proportional  giving.  "Now 
concerning  the  collection  for  the  saints,  as  I  gave  order  to  the 
churches  of  Galatia,  so  also  do  ye.  Upon  the  first  day  of  the 
week  let  each  one  of  you  lay  by  him  in  store,  as  he  may  prosper." 
A  study  of  the  passage  shows  that  it  is  not  simply  a  suggestion, 
but  an  apostolic  injunction ;  that  it  is  a  general  order,  one  which 
Paul  had  given  to  the  churches  of  an  entire  province ;  that  it 
enjoins  systematic  giving  at  regular  intervals  established  in 
advance;  that  it  demands  proportional  giving  according  to  the 
income  of  each.  The  two  principles  of  system  and  propor- 
tion clearly  laid  down  by  the  apostle  Paul  are  essential  to  success 
in  every  business  enterprise ;  and  business  men  recognize  them 
as  essential  to  the  successful  management  of  every  Church 
enterprise. 

As  I  have  worked  and  prayed  over  the  theme  assigned  the 
conviction  has  grown  upon  me  that,  in  not  fixing  upon  some 
proportion  in  giving  and  urging  that  upon  every  member,  the 
Church  has  made  the  same  mistake  that  she  would  have  made 
had  she  not  fixed  upon  one  seventh  of  every  Christian's  time,  but 
had  left  everv  member  free  to  set  aside  so  much  or  so  little  of 


IT   TENDETH    TO    POVERTY  2I5 

his  time  from  business  as  might  seem  good  in  his  own  eyes.  It  is 
plain  to  all  that,  had  not  the  early  Christians  set  aside  one  day  in 
seven  for  the  worship  and  service  of  God,  and  resolutely  abstained 
from  their  ordinary  work  upon  that  day,  Christianity  would  never 
have  become  one  of  the  great  world  religions.  It  grows  equally 
clear  to  me  that  were  the  Christians,  along  with  the  devotion  of 
one  seventh  of  their  time  to  the  Lord,  to  set  aside  also  one  tenth 
of  their  net  income  for  his  service  the  world  would  be  speedily 
evangelized. 

Dropping  for  a  moment  the  definite  proportion  of  one  tenth,  is  the  Rule 
let  us  plead  simply  for  some  definite  proportion  in  giving.  Every  *?"  .  ^ 
argument  which  could  be  used  against  any  definite  proportion  in 
giving,  every  charge  that  such  a  rule  is  legal  and  mechanical,  that 
it  contradicts  the  whole  spirit  of  the  New  Testament,  has  beea 
used  against  the  maintenance  of  the  Lord's  Day.  And  indeed 
you  can  find  a  stronger  argument  against  the  maintenance  of  the 
Sabbath  on  the  ground  that  it  contradicts  the  free  spirit  of  Chris- 
tianity, and  you  can  cite  stronger  arguments  in  both  the  words 
and  works  of  Christ  for  the  abolition  of  the  Sabbath  than  for 
the  abolition  of  tithing.  In  the  case  of  the  Lord's  Day  you  ask 
every  Christian,  no  matter  how  poor  he  is,  no  matter  how  large 
his  family,  to  abstain  from  his  ordinary  employment  one  day  in 
seven  and  devote  the  time  to  the  worship  and  service  of  God.  The 
demand  for  the  same  amount  of  time  from  every  Christian,  what- 
ever his  condition,  is  more  mechanical  and  legal  than  the  demand 
for  a  proportion  of  his  earnings.  In  time  the  poor  man  sets  aside 
the  same  amount  as  the  rich  man.  Proportional  giving  may  not 
take  one  fiftieth  as  much  money  from  the  poor  man  as  from  the 
rich  man.  But  every  man  recognizes  that  the  observance  of  the  Observance 
Lord's  Day,  with  proper  exceptions  for  the  works  of  mercy  and  g^^jijath 
of  necessity,  and  the  whole  of  it  observed  in  accordance  with  the 
Master's  injunction  that  the  Sabbath  was  made  for  man,  not  man 
for  the  Sabbath — ever}'  man  recognizes  that  the  Lord's  Day  so 
observed  has  brought  infinite  gains  to  our  civilization.  Who 
doubts  that  an  equally  universal  observance  of  proportional  giv- 
ing, not  in  a  mechanical  or  legal  manner,  not  with  the  conception 
that  one  tenth  or  any  proportion  discharges  our  obligation  to 
God,  but  as  a  recognition  that  we  have  been  redeemed  by  the  life- 
blood  of  Jesus,  and  that  all  we  have  and  are  belong  to  him — who 
doubts   that  such  proportional  giving  would  prove  an   infinite 


2l6 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


Wliat  the 
Proportion 
Should  Be 


Old 

Testament 
Standard 


gain  to  the  Church  and  to  the  civilization  of  the  twentieth 
century?  Let  us  at  least  resolve  here  to-day  that  we  will  begin 
ourselves  at  once,  and  that  we  will  lead  every  member  of  the 
Church  over  whom  we  have  sufficient  influence  to  systematic 
giving  of  some  proportion  of  his  income  for  the  service  of  the 
Lord. 

What  ought  this  proportion  to  be?  How  much  of  his  net 
income  ought  the  Church  to  ask  every  member  to  set  aside  for 
all  religious  and  benevolent  causes?  I  do  not  wish  to  lay  down  a 
hard  and  fast  mechanical  rule  which  does  violence  to  the  spirit 
of  the  Master.  Certainly  the  same  liberal  exceptions  on  the 
ground  of  mercy  and  necessity  should  be  made  as  obtain  in  the 
observance  of  the  Lord's  Day.  With  such  liberal  exceptions 
according  to  the  spirit  of  the  Master,  I  believe  that  the  gifts  under 
the  new  dispensation  of  the  followers  of  Him  who  gave  the  last 
full  measure  of  his  life  for  us  ought  not  to  fall  below  the  gifts 
under  the  old  dispensation — that  the  Christian  should  not  be 
stingier  than  the  Jew. 

A  careful  reading  of  Lev.  xxvii,  30-32,  Deut.  xii,  5-1 1,  28,  and 
xiv,  22-29  will  convince  any  person  that  tithing  has  the  sanction 
of  the  Old  Testament:  "And  all  the  tithe  of  the  land,  whether 
of  the  seed  of  the  land,  or  of  the  fruit  of  the  tree,  is  the  Lord's." 
*'Ye  shall  not  do  after  all  the  things  that  we  do  here  this  day, 
every  man  whatsoever  is  right  in  his  own  eyes."  What  an  exact 
description  of  our  present  method !  "But  when  ye  go  over 
Jordan,  and  dwell  in  the  land  wdiich  the  Lord  your  God  causeth 
you  to  inherit,  .  .  .  thither  shall  ye  bring  all  that  I  command 
3^ou ;  your  burnt  offerings,  and  your  sacrifices,  your  tithes.  .  .  . 
Observe  and  hear  all  these  words  which  I  command  thee,  that  it 
may  go  well  with  thee,  and  with  thy  children  after  thee  forever." 
"Thou  shalt  surely  tithe  all  the  increase  of  thy  seed,  .  .  .  and 
the  firstlings  of  thy  herd  and  of  thy  flock ;  that  thou  mayest  learn 
to  fear  the  Lord  thy  God  always.  .  .  .  Thou  shalt  bring  forth 
all  the  tithe  of  thine  increase,  .  .  .  and  the  Levite,  because  he 
hath  no  portion  nor  inheritance  with  thee,  and  the  stranger,  and 
the  fatherless,  and  the  widow,  which  are  within  thy  gates,  shall 
come,  and  shall  eat  and  be  satisfied ;  that  the  Lord  thy  God  may 
bless  thee  in  all  the  work  of  thine  hand  which  thou  doest."  From 
such  passages  as  the  above  it  seems  clear  that  the  Old  Testament 
indorses  the  principle  of  setting  aside  one  tenth  for  the  specific 


IT   TExXDETll    TO    TOVEKTY  21/ 

support  of  the   Church,   and  provides    for   additional' offerings 
according  to  the  means  and  the  spirit  of  the  worshiper. 

The  Jewish  priests  carried  the  exactions  of  the  tithe  so  far  as  Jewish 
to  inchide  mint,  anise,  and  cumin — mere  condiments  of  food  hke  ^°"8*^'^<'^ 
our  salt  and  pepper.  They  insisted  upon  their  tithes,  and  neg- 
lected the  weightier  matters  of  judgment,  mercy,  and  faith.  Jesus, 
as  the  real  leader  of  all  reforms,  laid  emphasis,  of  course,  upon 
great  principles,  like  mercy,  judgment,  and  faith — "These  ye 
ought  to  have  done."  But,  unlike  many  reformers,  Jesus  was 
never  careless  as  to  details.  He  knew  that  the  mastery  of  great 
principles  manifests  itself  in  faithfulness  in  little  things.  Hence 
he  adds,  in  regard  to  the  application  of  the  tithe  to  the  mere  con- 
diments of  the  table,  "and  not  to  have  left  the  other  undone."  It 
is  difficult  to  find  a  stronger  approval  of  the  principle  of  tithing 
than  these  words  afford.  We  are  sure  that  we  speak  after  both 
the  letter  and  the  spirit  of  the  New  Testament  in  urging  system- 
atic and  proportional  giving.  We  believe  that  we  speak  after  the 
mind  of  Christ  in  suggesting  that  in  general  the  Christian  should 
set  aside  for  the  service  of  God  and  man  not  less  than  one  tenth  At  Least 
of  his  income.  Just  here  we  are  met  by  the  suggestion  that  an 
Old  Testament  system  of  tithing  is  not  adapted  to  our  modern 
and  complex  age ;  that  it  is  very  difficult  for  many  men  to 
determine  what  is  their  net  income  after  paying  the  legitimate 
expenses  necessary  to  obtain  their  income;  where  the  line  is  to 
be  drawn  between  the  relatives  who  have  a  legitimate — almost  a 
legal — claim  upon  them,  and  humanity  in  general.  A  moment's 
thought  will  suffice  to  show  that  this  objection  is  not  against 
tithing,  but  against  all  proportional  giving;  that  it  is  a  plea  for 
the  old  lack  of  system  which  has  left  the  Church  with  an  empty 
treasury  in  face  of  the  greatest  opportunity  of  the  ages — a  plea 
for  the  lack  of  system  which  has  been  one  of  the  most  fruitful 
sources  of  failure  in  the  business  world.  However  much  effort 
may  be  required  to  ascertain  the  facts,  the  exact  knowledge  of 
one's  income  and  expenditure  and  of  his  financial  condition  is  one 
of  the  deepest  needs  of  Christians,  not  only  on  religious,  but  on 
financial  grounds. 

A  more  serious  objection  is  presented  in  the  interest  of  the  poor.  Demands 
I  have  been  asked  many  times  whether  I  think  it  Christlike  to  JJJJ  *^' 
demand  that  a  poor  man  with  a  family  of  ten  children  and  an 
income  of  six  hundred  dollars  a  year  give  as  much  as  a  single 


2l8 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


man  with  an  equal  income  and  no  relatives  depending  upon  him. 
The  answer  is  fourfold :  ( i )  The  law  of  necessity  upon  the  part 
of  the  poor  man  and  of  mercy  upon  the  part  of  the  Church  may 
well  absolve  some  persons  from  tithing.  (2)  If  the  poor  give 
ten  per  cent,  or  even  two  per  cent,  many  a  rich  man  is  called  to 
give  more  than  ten  per  cent.  (3)  "The  submerged  tenth"  in  any 
Church  never  remains  submerged.  It  usually  rises  into  the  com- 
fortable and  often  into  the  wealthier  class  in  a  few  years ;  and 
the  Church  can  well  afford  and  is  willing  to  wait  for  the  poorest 
to  escape  from  their  distress  before  urging  them  to  give  to  any 
considerable  extent.  (4)  I  have  never  known  the  real  difficulty 
to  be  presented  by  a  poor  family  in  any  concrete  case  in  the  history 
of  tithing.  The  poor  are  not  the  people  who  rebel  against  tithing, 
when  tithing  is  presented  with  the  freedom  of  Christ  and  in  his 
spirit.  It  is  the  rich  and  the  comfortable  who  refuse  to  give,  in 
the  name  of  the  poor. 

I  believe  that  the  struggle  to  bring  our  Church  up  to  giving 
even  so  large  a  proportion  as  one  tenth  is  not  so  difficult,  and  that 
the  end  is  not  so  far  removed  as  our  fears  may  indicate.  The 
bishops  in  their  last  address  estimated  the  income  of  the  members 
of  our  Church  at  five  hundred  millions  of  dollars  per  year. 
Bishop  McCabe  claimed  that  a  few  years  ago  the  total  gifts  of  the 
members  of  our  Church  for  all  Church  and  benevolent  purposes 
reached  twenty-three  millions  of  dollars  a  year.  If  we  add  the 
gifts  of  our  people  for  the  welfare  of  humanity,  and  accordingly 
for  the  advancement  of  the  kingdom,  but  outside  of  all  Church 
tabulation,  our  gifts  certainly  equal  twenty-five  millions  of  dollars 
annually,  or  an  average  of  five  per  cent  of  our  income.  If  every 
member  of  our  Church  whom  the  pastor  and  official  board  know 
to  be  able  to  pay  the  amount  could  be  brought  to  a  subscription  of 
ten  per  cent  of  his  income,  those  who  would  go  beyond  ten  per 
cent  would  bring  the  average  up  far  beyond  fifty  millions  dollars 
a  year.  Surely  it  is  not  an  impossible  task  to  lead  the  great 
majority  of  our  members  to  fix  upon  some  proportion  of  their 
income  as  a  payment  to  the  Lord  who  has  redeemed  them,  and 
thus  to  bring  our  Church  as  a  whole  to  compliance  with  the 
apostolic  injunction  of  systematic  and  proportional  giving.  If 
we  can  bring  the  great  majority  of  God's  children  who  know 
Christ  as  Saviour  and  Lord  to  a  regular  offering  of  substantially 
ten  per  cent  of  their  income  during  the  next  five  years,  before 


IT    TENDETH    TO    POVERTY  219 

the  close  of  this  generation  we  can  give  every  child  ot  God  at 
least  the  invitation  to  come  home.  The  more  I  study  the  New 
Testament  the  more  fully  it  seems  to  me  that  the  divine  injunc- 
tion of  proportional  giving  and  the  New  Testament  sanction  for 
setting  aside  one  tenth  of  our  income  for  the  service  of  God  and 
humanity  is- as  strong  as  is  the  divine  injunction  to  set  aside  one 
seventh  of  our  time  for  the  same  purpose.  In  a  word,  the  loose 
theory  of  grace,  that  spirit  of  antinomianism  which  has  infected 
Protestant  Christianity  and  led  us  to  magnify  emotional  states 
and  neglect  the  consecration  of  the  will,  accounts  for  the  present 
crisis  in  missions.  We  have  treated  giving  so  fully  as  a  matter 
of  impulse  rather  than  of  duty  that  Christians  generally  repudiate 
the  claim  of  God  and  the  Church  upon  any  fixed  per  cent  of  their 
income.  Our  giving  is  not  systematic  and  in  proportion  to  our 
receipts,  but  spasmodic  and  according  to  our  impulses. 

We  cannot  adopt  a  false  principle  in  religion  without  the  Business 
poison  of  it  affecting  our  careers  in  business.  Accordingly,  our  "^"P  ^^ 
self-centered  and  unsystematic  use  of  funds  for  God  runs  in  a 
measure  throughout  our  acquisitions  and  more  fully  throughout 
our  expenditures,  and  thus  weakens  the  financial  standing  of 
millions  of  Christians.  It  is  said  that  ninety-five  per  cent  of 
m.en  in  business  fail  at  some  stage  of  their  career.*  I  have  never 
succeeded  in  finding  the  data  upon  which  this  statement  is  based. 
I  do  not  believe  it  to  be  true.  Possibly  ninety-five  per  cent  of  our 
business  men  change  their  business  or  their  methods  of  business 
during  their  lifetime,  thus  indicating  that  in  their  judgment  there 
was  need  and  opportunity  for  improvement.  If  it  were  said  that 
ninety-five  per  cent  of  business  men  fail  to  make  an  adequate 
success  in  business,  that  they  fail  to  measure  up  to  their  possibili- 
ties, everybody  would  accept  the  statement  as  true. 

Financial  failures  are  due  to  carelessness  and  laziness  or  to  Financial 
greed  and  speculation  in  making  money,  or  else  to  carelessness 
and  extravagance  in  spending  it.  But  the  adoption  of  system 
and  self-denial  in  the  use  of  money  will  do  much  to  promote 
system  and  devotion  to  daily  duties  in  making  money.  The  same 
conscientiousness  which  leads  a  young  man  to  set  aside  a  tenth 
of  his  income  for  the  Lord  in  spending  his  money,  that  same 
conscientiousness  will  keep  him  from  trying  to  make  money 
through  speculation  and  cheating — fruitful  sources  of  financial 
failure.      But    more    Americans    fail    through    carelessness    and 


Failures 


220 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


Self-denial 


The  Margin 
the  Key  to 
Fortunes 


Tithing  for 
Selfish  Ends 


extravagance  in  spending  money  than  throngli  dishonesty  in 
making  it.  Their  expenditures  do  not  seem  to  themselves  ex- 
travagant ;  but  they  are  out  of  proportion  to  their  income.  All 
business  men  know  that  the  foundations  of  fortunes  are  laid  not 
so  frequently  or  so  fully  through  large  earnings  as  through  self- 
denial  in  spending  money,  through  preserving  a  reasonable  and 
constant  margin  between  income  and  expenditure.  Now  tithing 
demands  systematic,  constant  self-denial.  It  is  an  almost  unfail- 
ing cure  of  extravagant  or  disproportionate  expenditure.  The 
young  man  who  conscientiously  sets  aside  for  some  good  cause 
one  tenth  of  his  earnings  will  conscientiously  use  the  remaining 
nine  tenths ;  and  nine  tenths  conscientiously  used  will  contribute 
vastly  more  to  one's  enrichment  than  ten  tenths  used  in  a  hap- 
hazard, self-indulgent  manner.  So  surely,  therefore,  as  a  young 
man  refuses  to  deny  himself  and  set  aside  a  proportion  of  his 
income  for  benevolent  purposes,  so  surely  is  he  laying  the  foun- 
dation of  carelessness,  of  self-indulgence  and  extravagance,  and 
making  improbable  the  accumulation  of  a  fortune. 

The  margin  is  the  key  to  fortunes.  The  growth  of  a  fortune 
depends  not  upon  one's  earnings,  nor  his  expenditures  alone,  but 
upon  the  preservation  of  the  margin  between  the  two.  Tithing 
teaches  the  doctrine  of  the  margin,  and  inaugurates  it  in  the  life 
of  every  tither.  Nine  tenths  in  the  hands  of  the  man  who  has 
learned  the  doctrine  of  the  margin  are  more  than  ten  tenths  in 
the  hands  of  the  same  man  before  he  has  learned  obedience  to 
that  law. 

One  can  practice  self-denial  and  system  sufficiently  to  set 
aside  a  tithe  and  then  keep  it  for  himself.  In  case  this  man  does 
not  become  greedy  and  overreach  himself  in  his  haste  to  be  rich, 
he  will  reap  the  external  reward  of  the  tither.  But  he  will  miss 
the  spiritual  blessings.  It  is  possible  to  accumulate  money  by 
observing  the  first  half  of  the  principle  of  tithing,  namely,  the 
doctrine  of  the  margin.  But  the  first  half  makes  a  rich-poor  man. 
I  know  an  aged  couple  who  by  forty  years  of  business  skill  and 
self-denial  accumulated  more  than  a  million  dollars.  They  longed 
to  enjoy  what  they  supposed  their  rich  neighbors  enjoyed.  They 
built  one  of  the  finest  houses  on  the  avenue  in  the  city,  or  rather 
hired  an  architect  to  build  it.  They  found  the  mansion  a  prison  ; 
and  the  only  part  of  it  which  seemed  at  all  like  home  was  the 
kitchen,  and  they  lived  there.     Thev  felt  some  slight  stirrings  of 


IT   TENDETH    TO    I'OVERTY  221 

i 

artistic  taste,  and  they  longed  to  have  tine  paintings  on  their 
walls  like  those  of  their  new  neighbors.  Walking  down  the 
street  one  day — for  they  did  not  enjoy  their  carriage — they  saw 
a  lithograph  which  greatly  pleased  them.  The  old  man  was 
ashamed  to  display  his  ignorance  by  asking  its  price.  He  had  Rich,  not 
heard  that  good  paintings  cost  from  three  hundred  to  five  hundred  **  ^ 
dollars,  and  he  knew  this  was  very  pretty.  So  with  difficulty  he 
wrote  out  his  check  and  handed  it  to  the  clerk  and  asked  to  have 
a  tliousand  dollars'  worth  of  such  pictures  sent  to  his  new  home. 
He  hoped  he  might  receive  two  or  possibly  three  of  the  pictures ; 
and  was  greatly  astonished  when  a  wagonload  of  lithographs 
was  delivered  at  his  home.  You  smile ;  but  that  aged  millionaire 
and  his  wife  were  pitiably  poor.  It  is  possible  to  be  rich  in  this 
world's  goods  and  not  rich  toward  God.  There  are  Methodist 
millionaires  who  throughout  eternity  will  be  poorer  than  the 
children  of  the  almshouses.  The  cure  for  self-indulgence  and 
extravagance  and  poverty  on  the  one  side  and  for  greed  and 
spiritual  poverty  on  the  other  side  is  found  in  partnership  with 
God  carried  on  through  proportional  giving.  "See  that  ye 
abound  in  this  grace  also." 

Above  all,  there  is  a  divine  providence  in  human  affairs.  God  Divine 
is  determined  that  every  one  of  his  children  shall  at  least  have 
the  invitation  to  come  home.  But  he  cannot  carry  forward  the 
great  evangelistic,  ecclesiastical,  and  educational  enterprises  nec- 
essary for  the  redemption  of  our  race  without  immense  sums  of 
money.  Hence  he  not  only  calls  ministers  and  missionaries  to 
peculiar  tasks,  but  he  calls  all  his  children  to  fellowship  and 
partnership  with  himself.  We  are  all  God's  stewards,  and  each 
one  must  give  an  account  of  his  stewardship.  If  we  are  faithful 
to  the  five  talents  committed  to  our  care  we  shall  find  them  becom- 
ing ten.  God  wants  men  whom  he  can  trust  to  use  wealth  for 
the  kingdom,  and  he  pours  money  into  every  such  man's  lap, 
unless  he  desires  to  use  that  man  for  some  service  even  higher 
than  faithful  stewardship  in  the  use  of  money. 

]\Ianv  years  ago  a  poor  widow  told  her  sons  that  they  must  a  Widow's 
learn  to  be  generous,  else  they  would  become  men  of  mean  and 
little  spirits.  She  enforced  her  teaching  by  putting  into  the  hands 
of  each  child  every  Sunday  morning  a  small  amount  of  money 
for  the  support  of  the  Gospel.  Soon  the  children  began  to  make 
the  contribution  from  their  own  earnings.    The  mother's  teaching 


Instruction 


222 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


was  SO  impressed  upon  one  son  that  he  early  determined  to  keep 
count  of  his  contributions  and  to  give  a  thousand  dollars  to  the 
Lord  in  order  that  he  might  overcome  the  mean  and  stingy  spirit 
which  his  mother  had  described  and  which  he  believed  possessed 
him.  The  amount  was  twice  as  much  as  the  mother  and  all  the 
children  were  worth.  The  mother  was  surprised  and  gratified 
at  the  son's  announcement  of  his  purpose ;  but  she  did  not  expect 
that  he  would  ever  be  able  to  carry  it  out.  The  resolution  cost 
years  of  effort.  But  that  son  astonished  and  delighted  his  mother 
before  her  death  by  bringing  to  her  his  accounts,  showing  that 
he  had  paid  a  thousand  dollars  into  the  Lord's  treasury.  The 
industry  and  self-denial  and  system  developed  by  this  struggle 
became,  with  the  blessing  of  God,  the  foundation  of  a  successful 
business  career.  This  man  completed,  two  years  ago,  the  larger 
but  not  more  difficult  task  of  raising  his  gift  of  a  thousand  dol- 
lars to  the  Lord  to  one  hundred  thousand  dollars.  By  his  life 
and  gifts  probably  he  has  done  more  for  the  Church  and  the 
kingdom  in  the  city  where  he  lives  than  any  minister  who  has 
served  that  city  during  his  lifetime.  How  blessed  is  such  a 
partnership  with  God !  LTpon  the  other  hand,  a  brother  of  this 
man,  who  would  not  learn  self-denial  and  thus  become  rich  toward 
God,  has  become  so  reduced  financially  by  his  vices  that  for 
fifteen  years  he  has  been  a  pensioner  on  his  more  generous 
brother.  The  devil  is  a  poor  paymaster.  You  can  multiply  by 
the  score  cases  similar  to  the  above.  You  all  know  people  wdio 
have  been  ruined  by  their  extravagance.  It  is  indeed  possible 
that  a  few  unsystematic,  impulsive  givers  have  occasionally  sub- 
scribed too  much  for  church  enterprises.  But  you  cannot  name 
one  systematic,  conscientious  tither  who,  by  his  own  testimony, 
or  in  your  own  calm  judgment,  has  suffered  permanent  finiancial 
loss  by  tithing.  The  Jews  are  the  only  people  who  through 
systematic,  voluntary  gifts  have  ever  approached  the  tithe ;  they 
furnish  fewer  candidates  for  the  almshouse  than  any  other  people, 
and  they  are  confessedly  the  most  successful  people  financially 
on  earth.  Here  is  the  scientific  test  of  experiment.  Nine  tenths 
plus  God  are  more  than  ten  tenths  without  him. 

The  crisis  is  upon  us.  The  twentieth  century  has  dawned.  The 
nations  are  at  our  doors,  and  needing  help.  God  is  hovering  over 
us.  Tithing,  or  at  least  proportional  giving,  is  one  method  of 
relief,  and,  so  far  as  I  can  see,  the  only  way  out.     You  cannot 


WHAT   THE    PRESIDING    ELDER    CAN    DO  223 

i 

maintain  the  New  Testament  example  of  the  devotion  of  one 
seventh  of  one's  time  to  the  service  and  worship  of  God  and  deny 
the  New  Testament  injunction  and  example  of  systematic  and 
proportional  gifts  for  the  worship  and  service  of  God.  "Bring 
ye  all  the  tithes  into  the  storehouse,  that  there  may  be  meat  in 
mine  house,  and  prove  me  now  herewith,  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts, 
if  I  will  not  open  you  the  windows  of  heaven,  and  pour  you  out  a 
blessing,  that  there  shall  not  be  room  enough  to  receive  it." 


WHAT   THE    PRESIDING   ELDER   CAN    DO 

The    Rev.    Willard    T.    Perrin,  D.D.* 

What  the  presiding  elder  can  do  depends  upon  what  he  is.   The 
He  cannot  do  what  a  presiding  elder  ought  to  do  unless  he  is  full  EiSr^a^^a 
of  faith  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost  and  in  sympathy  with  the  purpose   Man 
of  the  Son  of  God  that  his  Gospel  shall  reach  the  last  man.    The 
success  of  the  presiding  elder  upon  his  district  will  very  likely 
be  the  outcome  of  some  closet  experiences  with  his  Lord ;    some 
overwhelming    revelation    of     responsibility    and    need ;     some 
mountain-top  vision  of  the  omnipotence  of  his  glorified  Saviour ; 
some  blessed  baptism  of  the  Spirit,  melting  his  soul  with  grateful 
love  to  the  Crucified  One  and  pitiful  love  for  the  blood-bought 
who  know  not  their  Redeemer. 

The  presiding  elder,  for  highest  efficiency  in  this  work,  must  be  A  Student  of 
an  intelligent  student  of  missions,  particularly  of  modern  mis-  ^""ons 
sions,  and  especially  of  the  missions  of  our  Methodism,  and  there- 
fore deeply  impressed  \vith  their  importance  as  an  essential  part 
of  the  work  of  Christ's  Church.  He  ought  to  be  a  reader  of 
missionary  literature,  including  the  current  periodicals;  in  fel- 
lowship with  living  missionaries ;  and  thus  posted  as  to  what 
the  living  God  is  doing  in  this  very  year  of  our  Lord. 

He  must  be  enthusiastic,  stirred  by  inspiring  conceptions  of   Enthusiasm 
God's  loving  purpose  to  save  the  world,  of  the  race-wide  opera- 
tions of  God's  Spirit  upon  human  hearts,  and  of  the  ultimate 
triumph  which  beckons  onward  the  followers  of  the  conquering 
Christ.     The  enthusiastic  presiding  elder  has  his  eye  on  nothing 

*  Some  one  hundred  and  twenty  presiding  elders  and  other  leaders  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  and  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  helped  me  in  the  prep- 
aration  of  this  paper.    They  will  please  accept  my  sincere  thanks.— W.  T.  P. 


224 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


Honorable 
Leadership 


A  Leader  of 
Leaders 


The  Sunday 
School  Super- 
intendent 


less  than  world-conquest  for  the  King.  He  therefore  seeks  the 
salvation  of  souls  everywhere  and  victory  everywhere  for  the 
principles  of  the  Gospel.  His  main  object  is  to  gain  souls  rather 
than  dollars.  He  seeks  to  meet  the  apportionments,  but  rather 
to  train  the  people  to  give  what  they  ought.  He  may  rejoice  over 
what  has  been  done,  but  he  is  eager  for  what  ought  to  be  done. 
He  devotes  himself  not  to  a  spurt,  but  to  a  persistent  effort  to 
bring  the  members  of  Christ's  Church  to  such  a  systematic  setting 
apart  of  their  income  and  of  their  possessions  for  the  extension 
of  Christ's  kingdom  as  will  win  the  approval  of  Him  who  was 
rich  but  for  our  sakes  became  poor.  He  is  on  the  outlook  for 
those  who  will  give  not  their  money  merely,  but  themselves,  or 
what  perhaps  costs  them  more,  their  sons  and  daughters,  to  this 
holy  cause. 

The  presiding  elder  is  called  to  honorable  leadership.  The 
office  is  maintained  at  large  cost.  Among  other  voices  the  call  of 
missions  challenges  him  to  do  his  best.  To  quote  another,  "To 
be  a  poor  presiding  elder  is  the  most  inexcusable  of  economic 
sins." 

In  discussing  my  theme  I  propose  to  consider  what  the  presid- 
ing elder  can  do,  (i)  officially  and  (2)  indirectly. 

I.  Ofificially. 

In  the  Quarterly  Conference  the  presiding  elder  meets  the 
leaders  of  the  local  church.  This  is  his  opportunity  to  lead  the 
leaders.  He  may  do  much  to  stimulate  the  pastor  in  the  latter's 
double  duty  of  spreading  missionary  intelligence  and  of  collecting 
money.  In  the  presence  of  the  members  of  the  Conference  he  can 
strengthen  the  pastor  in  his  purpose  to  do  his  utmost  for  missions 
and  can  talk  over  the  best  methods.  He  can  urge  him  to  make 
a  great  day  of  Missionary  Sunday  and  to  see  that  the  missionary 
committee  solicits  a  subscription  from  every  member  of  the 
church.  He  can  emphasize  the  value  of  the  monthly  missionary 
prayer  meeting  and  suggest  how  to  make  it  interesting  and 
profitable. 

Here  the  presiding  elder  meets  the  Sunday  school  superintend- 
ent, who  may  be  an  ardent  friend  of  missions,  or  possibly  a  nar- 
row-minded opponent  of  the  monthly  missionary  collection.  If 
the  former  the  presiding  elder  may  bring  him  encouragement.  If 
he  be  the  latter  the  pastor  will  very  likely  be  grateful  to  the  elder 
if  he  speak  with  authority  as  to  the  Disciplinary  provision  for  the 


WHAT   THE    PRESIDING    ELDER    CAN    DO 


225 


organization  of  the  Sunday  school  missionary  society  and  lay 
before  the  Conference  the  importance  of  training  the  boys  and 
girls  in  systematic  benevolence,  and  the  great  possibilities  in  the 
Sunday  school  for  enthusiasm  and  achievement  with  reference  to 
the  missionary  enterprise. 

Here  he  may  talk  with  the  Epworth  League  president  about 
the  growing  interest  in  missions  among  the  yoimg  people  of  all 
denominations ;  call  attention  to  the  spreading  Student  X^oluntcer 
and  Student  Missionary  Campaign  movements,  laying  stress 
upon  the  value  of  systematic  giving  on  the  part  of  the  youth  ; 
urge  the  appointment  of  a  missionary  committee,  the  purchase  of 
the  Missionary  Campaign  Libraries,  the  organization  of  mission 
study  classes,  the  promotion  of  the  Christian  Stewardship  En- 
rollment, and  a  missionary  contribution  from  every  Epworth 
Leaguer. 

Here  he  meets  the  financial  leaders  of  the  society;  those  upon 
whom  falls  the  responsibility  of  providing  for  the  current  ex- 
penses. Often  these  men,  oppressed  with  their  local  burdens, 
look  with  envious  eyes  upon  the  money  given  for  foreign  missions 
and  outside  benevolences.  The  presiding  elder  may  take  occasion 
by  argument  and  illustration  to  refute  the  mistaken  notion  that 
gifts  to  other  worthy  objects  rob  the  home  treasury. 

Here  the  presiding  elder  ought  to  meet  the  presidents  of  the 
Woman's  Foreign  Missionary  Society  and  the  Woman's  Home 
Missionary  Society.  The  next  General  Conference  will  make 
this  possible,  I  trust.  But  he  may  possibly  meet  representatives 
of  these  organizations,  and  at  all  events  he  may  speak  kindly  of 
these  splendid  societies,  prompt  the  brethren  to  profit  by  such 
inspiring  examples  of  intelligent  activity,  and  counsel  the  most 
harmonious  cooperation  between  the  various  missionary  societies 
of  the  Church. 

At  the  first  Quarterly  Conference  the  presiding  elder  may 
wisely  advise  the  early  taking  of  the  subscriptions  for  missions, 
and  at  his  second  visit  will  probably  not  make  a  mistake  if  he 
takes  along  a  carefully  prepared  missionary  sermon.  He  will 
not  be  likely  to  make  too  much  of  the  Quarterly  Conference  as  a 
missionary  opportunity,  and  ought  to  secure,  if  possible,  a  full 
attendance  of  the  members.  A  Quarterly  Conference  with  open 
doors,  to  which  all  the  members  of  the  church  were  invited  and 
at  which  light  refreshments  added  to  the  fellowship,  has  been 
15 


The  Epworth 

League 

President 


The  Stewards 


The  Women's 
Societies 


A  Missionary 
Sermon 


226 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


The  District 

Uissiouary 

Secretary 


Program 
Topics 


Missionary 
Institutes 


Available 
Speakers 


found  a  most  favorable  occasion  for  the  elder  to  magnify  the 
benevolences. 

In  his  oversight  of  the  district  the  presiding  elder  will  find 
ample  scope  for  effective  service  to  the  missionary  cause.  The 
Discipline  furnishes  him  a  counselor  and  coworker  in  the  district 
missionary  secretary.  The  arrangement  is  admirable.  The  pre- 
siding elder  and  secretary  should  early  get  together  and  plan 
carefully.  The  more  responsibility  the  presiding  elder  can  put 
upon  the  secretary  the  better,  provided  he  be  the  enthusiastic 
friend  of  missions  he  ought  to  be.  In  some  districts  a  missionary 
campaign  committee  has  been  found  very  useful. 

Meetings.  Much  can  be  done  by  securing  a  place  for  mission- 
ary topics  on  the  programs  of  meetings  regularly  held  which  are 
not  specifically  missionary.  The  District  Conference  would  not 
be  complete  without  such  a  feature  in  its  sessions.  More  might 
be  profitably  made  of  the  annual  meeting  of  the  district  stewards. 
The  camp  meetings,  preachers'  meetings,  Epworth  League  dis- 
trict and  circuit  meetings,  and  Sunday  school  conventions  all 
gather  the  people  together  under  such  auspices  that  a  missionary 
topic  is  peculiarly  in  place  and  will  usually  be  most  acceptable  if 
it  be  not  unreasonably  crowded  upon  the  management  of  these 
meetings. 

But  it  is  important  and  sometimes  absolutely  essential  that 
specific  missionary  meetings  be  held.  Our  brethren  of  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church,  South,  have  made  much  of  their  mission- 
ary institutes  where  preachers  and  laymen — particularly  the 
preachers — have  caught  inspiration  and  have  banded  themselves 
together  to  win  in  the  name  of  the  Master.  The  presiding  elder's 
district  has  often  been  divided  into  subdistricts  upon  which  group 
meetings  have  been  held.  This  method  has  been  advantageously 
worked  in  connection  with  our  wide-awake  field  secretaries. 
Finally  a  great  missionary  day  in  every  charge  should  be  the 
goal  to  bring  the  cause  home  to  every  member  of  every  church. 

In  these  meetings  all  available  talent  should  be  utilized.  As 
a  rule,  the  most  effective  are,  doubtless,  those  who  have  personally 
inspected  the  fields — the  returned  missionaries,  the  missionary 
bishops,  and  the  bishops  who  have  visited  the  missions.  The 
missionary  secretaries  and  the  field  secretaries  are  in  great  de- 
mand and  full  of  magnetic  power.  But  it  is  important  that  others 
be  enlisted,  and  appointed  to  study  different  phases  of  the  vast 


Information 


WHAT    THE    PRESIDING    ELDER    CAN    DO  22/ 

and  varied  work  of  bringing  this  world  to  the  feet  of  Jesus 
Christ,  and  thus  be  thrilled  by  their  own  investigations  and  their 
own  thinking.  A  place  upon  some  program  should  be  found,  if 
possible,  for  every  pastor,  and  gifted  laymen  should  be  pressed 
into  the  service.  The  presiding  elder  is  in  a  peculiarly  favorable 
position,  with  the  aid  of  the  district  secretary,  to  bring  about  these 
most  desirable  results  and  thus  arouse  in  as  many  pastors  and 
laymen  as  possible  the  sense  of  responsibility.  He  may  render 
valuable  service  in  promoting  exchanges  among  the  ministers,  so 
that  experienced  and  effective  missionary  preachers  may  come 
to  the  aid  of  their  younger  brethren  and  of  those  in  difificult  fields. 

Literature.  Ignorance  is  the  mighty  foe  of  the  missionary  Supply 
cause.  No  intelligent  Christian  can  fail  to  be  interested  in  the 
salvation  of  all  lands.  "Give  the  people  the  facts,"  exclaims  one 
successful  presiding  elder.  "Flood  the  churches  with  literature," 
writes  another.  "Something  like  one  thousand  books  were  sold,'* 
is  another's  explanation  in  part  how  they  raised  the  entire  appor- 
tionment on  his  district.  This  fortress  of  ignorance  we  must 
assault  with  all  our  available  forces.  A  copy  of  the  regular 
Methodist  weekly — Zion's  Herald  or  a  Christian  Advocate — and 
the  Epworth  Herald  ought  to  be  in  the  home  of  at  least  every 
office  bearer  in  the  Church.  This  would  be  a  great  advance.  The 
World-Wide  Missions  is  wisely  scattered  widely.  The  mission- 
ary reports  and  the  missionary  monthly  or  review  furnish  effective 
ammunition.  A  quarterly  bulletin  has  been  issued  by  some  pre- 
siding elders,  and  others  have  found  a  district  paper  invaluable. 
One  prepared  a  chart  which  vividly  pictured  the  fidelity  of  some 
churches  and  the  striking  failure  of  others.  I  am  expecting  much 
from  the  excellent  Campaign  Libraries  published  by  our  Book 
Concern  at  such  reasonable  rates.  Timely  and  readable  tracts  are 
constantly  coming  from  the  missionary  office,  while  the  publica- 
tions of  our  two  women's  missionary  societies  are  unsurpassed. 
But  all  these  are  of  small  avail  unless  they  secure  readers,  and  the 
presiding  elder's  business  is  to  aid  in  the  circulation  of  this  litera- 
ture. A  lantern  slide  bureau  has  been  formed  by  at  least  one 
presiding  elder  and  suggests  possibilities  worth  considering.  No 
literature  is  more  likely  to  produce  results  than  the  presiding 
elder's  personal  letters  written  out  of  a  burning  heart.  "Much 
correspondence"  tells  the  story  of  one  victory. 

"The  Station  Plan."     The  presiding  elder  might  be,  it  seems 


228 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


The  Living 
Link 


Equitable 
Apportion- 
ments 


to  me,  an  important  factor  in  bringing  local  churches,  Sunday 
schools,  and  Epworth  Leagues  into  correspondence  with  indi- 
vidual missionaries,  native  pastors,  and  orphan  boys  and  girls  in 
the  mission  schools.  This  gives  a  definiteness  to  appeals  for 
money,  enlists  sympathies,  and  awakens  desires  for  information, 
which  could  not  otherwise  be  stirred.  No  other  method,  I  am 
satisfied,  can  be  so  effectual.  This  will  naturally  lead  to  the  sup- 
port of  missionaries  by  individual  churches  or  groups  of  churches, 
or  by  groups  of  Sunday  schools  and  Epworth  Leagues,  or  even 
by  individual  persons  of  means.  The  Station  Plan — "the  newest 
thing  in  missions" — may  need  modification,  but  to  my  mind  is 
one  of  the  most  promising  things  in  recent  developments.  Our 
Church,  so  far  as  I  know,  is  far  behind  other  denominations  in 
this  advance  movement.  Of  the  seven  hundred  and  fifty  mission- 
aries of  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  the  United  States,  about  five 
hundred  and  fifty  are  supported  in  the  way  I  have  indicated, 
while  the  Congregational  Churches  are  in  the  very  van.  The 
results  have  sometimes  been  marvelous.  The  first  Presbyterian 
Church  of  Wichita,  Kansas,  now  supports  three  or  four  foreign 
missionaries  and  some  thirty  native  pastors.  It  began  this  when 
overwhelmed  with  financial  obligations  at  home.  This  policy  of 
direct  support  through  the  agency  of  the  Missionary  Society 
will,  I  am  convinced,  incalculably  increase  the  missionary 
offerings. 

Apportionments.  With  the  apportionments  sent  out  from  the 
New  York  office  the  presiding  elder  has  a  vital  connection.  He 
is  expected  to  indorse  them  and  make  an  appeal  that  they  be 
fully  met.  Under  these  conditions  I  am  constrained  to  suggest 
that  the  office  in  New  York  will  be  wise  if  it  be  even  more  inclined 
to  regard  the  judgment  of  the  presiding  elder,  who  is  acquainted 
wdth  local  conditions  as  no  person  in  a  distant  office  can  possibly 
be.  This  system  of  equitable  apportionment  I  believe  to  be  very 
helpful,  and  should  be  effectively  utilized  by  the  presiding  elders. 
I  have  read  with  interest  how  the  last  year  seventy  districts  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  raised  the  full  apportion- 
ment for  missions,  or  "paid  out,"  as  they  call  it.  The  enthusiasm 
was  often  so  great  to  secure  the  whole  amount  that  at  the  round- 
up at  Conference  some  one  or  more  earnest  laymen  or  perhaps 
the  preachers  of  the  district  have  come  to  the  rescue.  I  am  not 
sure  that  our  present  method  of  always  advancing  the  goal  would 


WHAT    THE    PRESIDING    ELDER    CAN    DO  229 

ever  permit  a  presiding  elder  of  our  Clnirch  to  reach  it.  We  do, 
however,  have  the  stimuhis  of  possibly  bringing  all  our  charges 
into  Class  First. 

In  discussing  the  official  influence  of  the  presiding  elder  I 
ought  not  to  omit  his  advice  in  the  bishop's  cabinet  when  appoint- 
ments are  under  consideration.  A  preacher's  fidelity  in  raising 
the  missionary  and  other  apportionments  ought  to  have  its  full 
weight  in  the  question  of  the  preacher's  effectiveness. 

2.  What  the  Presiding  Elder  Can  Do  Indirectly. 

The  personality  of  the  presiding  elder  will  count  for  much.  The  Presiding 
By  example  he  can  preach  most  loudly.  If  he  appears  more  Example 
anxious  to  get  his  pay  from  the  churches  than  to  secure  good 
missionary  collections  his  appeals  for  the  latter  will  fall  flat.  His 
own  contributions  should  be  liberal.  Sometimes  he  can  greatly 
cheer  a  hard-working  pastor  by  placing  his  annual  gift  to  mis- 
sions, or  a  part  of  it,  with  the  collection  of  such  a  brother. 

He  has  a  fine  opportunity  when  entertained  at  the  parsonage  Fruitful 
or  at  the  home  of  some  official  layman.  The  conversation  awaits  conversation 
his  direction.  What  more  fascinating  and  elevating  theme  than 
the  progress  of  the  kingdom  of  God!  If  he  be  ready  with  some 
incident  in  the  eventful  life  of  David  Livingstone  or  of  William 
Taylor,  or  something  fresh  from  the  Philippines  or  Porto  Rico 
or  China  or  elsewhere,  he  will  not  fail  to  obtain  an  attentive 
hearing.  In  this  way  he  may  win  some  boy  or  girl  for  the  foreign 
field  or  some  princely  giver  for  the  days  to  come.  Ministers  and 
laymen  he  is  constantly  meeting  in  their  homes,  on  the  cars,  at 
various  assemblies,  and  if  he  be  thoroughly  aroused  for  the 
world's  redemption  he  will  all  the  while  be  unconsciously  spread- 
ing the  holy  fire. 

Leadership  designates  the  high  position  to  which  the  presiding 
elder  is  called,  and  in  no  other  line  ought  his  leadership  be  more 
impressively  felt  than  in  the  missionary  cause. 

The  presiding  elders  are  agreed,  I  find,  that  the  pastor  is  the  The  Key 
key  to  this  problem  of  the  missionary  collection,  and  that  the  *°  ^^ 
indifference  and  negligence  of  too  many  pastors  furnish  the 
greatest  obstacles  in  the  way  of  success.  Now,  the  presiding  elder 
is  the  pastor  of  the  pastors,  and  if  the  pastor  be  the  key  to  the 
situation  it  is  the  province  of  the  presiding  elder  to  turn  the  key 
and  thus  open  wide  the  door.  "Keep  looking  after  the  pastors," 
"Stimulate  the  pastors,"  "Coach  the  pastors,"  are  some  of  the 


230 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


Methodism's 
High  Ideals 


Giving 
Does  not 
Impoverish 


A  Revival 


suggestions  received.  All  this,  however,  can  be  done  successfully 
only  by  the  presiding  elder  who  has  won  his  pastors  by  his 
brotherliness  and  tactfulness.  Get  under  the  load  beside  your 
pastors,  commend  them,  spur  them  on,  help  them  all  possible, 
and  then  trust  them.  Do  not  insist  upon  any  ironclad  method. 
The  main  thing  is  to  arouse  your  men  to  do  their  best  and  then 
let  them  do  it  in  their  own  way.  A  presiding  elder  writes  of  a 
victorious  year  on  his  district:  "Nearly  all  the  pastors  started 
out  with  a  determination  to  raise  all  the  collections  in  full.  All 
who  formed  this  determination  early  in  the  year  succeeded." 

The  leadership  of  the  presiding  elder  is  felt  in  the  sentiments 
for  which  he  stands.  Dr.  Daniel  Steele  says  that  he  has  a  span 
of  hobbies — perfect  love  and  missions.  These  spirited  steeds 
drive  well  together.  That  presiding  elder  will  be  likely  to  do  best 
for  missions  who  holds  up  the  high  ideals  of  Christian  experience 
and  life  for  which  Methodism  has  ever  stood.  Those  who  pro- 
foundly realize  and  joyfully  confess  that  they  are  not  their  own 
will  be  most  ready  to  give  liberally  for  what  lies  nearest  the  heart 
of  Him  who  bought  them  with  his  blood. 

If  the  presiding  elder  preaches  and  practices  tithing  as  a  mini- 
mum rule  for  the  Christian  disciple  he  will  be  lifting  most  of 
those  whom  he  influences  to  a  higher  level  than  they  have  ever 
reached.  There  is  little  danger  of  falling  into  Judaistic  legalism 
if  this  matter  be  rightly  presented. 

Let  the  presiding  elder  everywhere  banish  the  pernicious  doc- 
trine that  giving  impoverishes  either  God  or  man.  Churches  die 
from  penuriousness,  and  not  from  too  generous  giving.  Listen 
to  some  testimonies  from  districts  where  strenuous  and  successful 
efforts  were  made  for  the  missionary  collection:  "Other  collec- 
tions have  increased  rapidly;"  "Every  pastor  received  every  cent 
of  his  salary;"  "The  pastors  received  an  increase  of  twenty-five 
per  cent  on  their  salaries;"  "We  are  convinced  that  nothing  so 
helps  our  work  at  home  as  a  settled,  steady  purpose  to  do  our 
full  duty  for  the  work  abroad." 

A  blessed  revival  in  which  sinners  are  converted,  backsliders 
reclaimed,  and  believers  quickened  is  the  missionary  collection's 
best  friend.  The  presiding  elder  is  planning  well  for  missions 
who  bends  his  energies  to  starting  the  fires  of  revival  all  over  his 
district.  No  wonder  that  one  such  presiding  elder  reported  that 
the  assessment  for  missions  and  all  the  other  Conference  assess- 


WHAT    THE    PRESIDING    ELDER    CAN    DO  23I 

ments  were  overpaid.     Not  by  might  nor  by  power,  but'by  the 
spirit  of  the  Lord,  is  the  missionary  apportionment  raised. 

The  presiding  elder  is  to  rally  the  forces  of  his  district  in  a  Worth  of  a 
connectional  unity  to  the  support  of  all  the  enterprises  of  the  *  °  ^°^ 
Church.  Mottoes  and  watchwords  will  sometimes  be  helpful. 
"A  revival  oo  every  charge  and  all  collections  in  full"  isn't  a  bad 
one.  "One  hundred  cents  on  the  dollar  for  every  claim,"  "A 
contribution  from  every  member,"  are  others.  "As  many  dollars 
for  missions  as  members,"  would  be  peculiarly  fitting  in  some  of 
our  districts.  Others  equally  good  or  better  are  likely  to  occur  to 
a  live  leader.  District  enthusiasm  may  be  a  mighty  force  to  swing 
the  churches  into  line. 

The  campaign  upon  the  district  will  probably  be  the  outcome 

of  the  presiding  elder's  resolve  or  that  of  the  pastors.     "Great 

determination  came  upon  us  at  the  missionary  institute,"  writes  a 

presiding  elder  as  he  describes  a  mighty  baptism  which  fell  upon 

the  preachers.     "The  purpose  to  succeed,  together  with  constant 

work,  was  the  cause  of  our  success,"  writes  another. 

And  so  we  eet  back  to  the  place  where  we  started.     In  our  The  Secret 

.  .  Place 

closet  with  our  omnipotent  living  Lord  is  the  place  to  win  the 

victory.    The  size  of  the  victory  which  Joash  is  to  gain  over  the 

Syrians  is  determined  in  the  chamber  of  Elisha  the  prophet  o£ 

Jehovah.    Let  Joash  smite  the  ground  but  thrice  and  he  will  win 

but  a  partial  victory.     Let  him  smite  with  his  whole  soul  and  he 

will  consume  his  enemies  altogether.    The  presiding  elder  stands 

in  the  presence  of  Jesus  Christ  his  Lord  and  Saviour.    He  listens 

to  the  thrilling  command,  "Go  ye  into  all  the  world,  and  preach 

the  Gospel  to  every  creature."     Let  him  then  and  there  commit 

himself  to  do  his  best  and  the  victory  on  his  district  shall  be 

glorious. 


232 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


Seventy-two 
Cents  a 
Member 


What  Other 

Churches 

Give 


Work  of  the 

District 

Secretary 


WHAT   THE   DISTRICT   MISSIONARY 
SECRETARY    CAN    DO 

The    Rev.    W.    F.    Oldham,    D.D. 

Before  I  enter  upon  the  specific  subject  before  me,  I  may  be 
permitted  to  inquire  the  necessity  for  any  emphasis  on  the 
methods  of  creating  added  sentiment  and  securing  added  gifts 
for  the  Missionary  Society.  There  are  those  who  think  that  mis- 
sionary matters  are  already  pressed  to  the  limit  in  the  Church, 
and  that  we  are  in  danger  of  overdoing  this.  A  little  inquiry 
will  clear  the  air.  What  is  the  actuar  missionary  output  of  the 
Church  in  dollars?  I  take  last  year's  figures,  as  they  are  the 
latest  available.  A  membership  of  about  2,750,000  gave  to  the 
Missionary  Society  $1,300,000;  through  the  Woman's  Foreign 
Missionary  Society,  $410,000;  through  the  Woman's  Home  Mis- 
sionary Society,  $250,000;  total,  $1,960,000 — an  average  of  ^2 
cents  per  member. 

During  the  same  year  the  Presbyterians  gave  $1.30  per  member. 
The  Baptists,  who  are  certainly  no  better  placed  in  life  than  we, 
gave  78  cents  per  member.  Across  the  line  the  Canadian  Metho- 
dists average  88  cents  a  member  for  the  Missionary  Society  alone. 
Even  if  we  anticipate  this  year's  splendid  advance  at  about  $100,- 
000  it  will  still  leave  us  averaging  for  the  Missionary  Society  a 
little  less  than  50  cents  per  member.  The  Canadian  Methodists 
average  88  cents.  Our  brethren  of  the  North  are  no  more  pious 
nor  devoted  than  we ;  they  are  certainly  no  more  wealthy ;  and 
they  have  a  wider  and  as  needy  a  home  missionary  frontier.  It 
is  evident  that  there  is  a  wide  margin  of  possibility  before  us  in 
the  cultivation  of  our  field  for  large  returns.  The  standard  for 
us  to  raise  at  this  Convention  and  for  the  Church  to  realize  at  an 
early  day  is  "a  dollar  per  member"  for  the  Missionary  Society. 
Several  of  our  German  and  Scandinavian  districts  are  doing  this ; 
twenty  years  ago  the  Baltimore,  New  York,  New  York  East,  and 
Philadelphia  Conferences  were  doing  this ;  and  this  year  the 
Huron  District  (South  Dakota  Conference)  and  the  Southern 
California  Conference  average  $1.30  a  member. 

What  some  Conferences  used  to  do  and  others  are  doing  we 
may  hope  to  have  all  do  when  adequate  means  are  used  for  the 
awakening  of  our  entire  membership.    One  of  the  offices  designed 


THE   DISTRICT    MISSIONARY    SECRETARY 


^2>2> 


The  Presiding 

Elder's 

Lieutenant 


to  help  in  this  wider  awakening  is  that  of  the  district  missionary 
secretary,  and  the  purpose  of  this  paper  is  to  answer  the  question, 
"What  can  the  district  missionary  secretary  do?"  The  office  is 
new,  the  path  almost  untrodden ;  several  hundred  eager  men, 
however,  have  been  elected  district  missionary  secretaries.  They 
do  not  desire  a  perfunctory  office.  The  fact  of  their  selection 
proves  they  have  already  demonstrated  unusual  interest  in  mis- 
sions. A  vision  of  the  abysmal  needs  of  a  Christless  world  they 
have  seen ;  the  cry  of  the  hunger-smitten  soul  of  humanity  is  in 
their  ears.  They  are  eager  to  serve.  What  can  any  of  them  do 
to  promote  the  cause  of  missions? 

The  district  secretary  is  to  be  the  presiding  elder's  lieutenant  in 
this  matter  of  the  districts  in  helping  his  fellow-pastors  and  the 
churches  they  serve  in  three  valuable  ways  which  may  be  summed 
up  as  follows:  (i)  Increase  missionary  intelligence,  and  thereby 
deepen  sincere  missionary  interest  and  devotion.  (2)  Further 
the  loyalty  of  the  churches  of  the  district  to  the  Missionary 
Society  and  its  administration,  and  thus  help  to  increase  the 
regular  missionary  collection.  (3)  Furnish  plans  and  sugges- 
tions whereby  both  these  objects  may  be  attained.  In  order  to  do 
these  three  things  he  must — 

1.  Prepare  himself  for  missionary  leadership.  In  the  older  day 
the  king  was  he  who  had  in  him  the  '*Can-ning,"  to-day  it  is  he 
who  has  the  "Ken-ning;"  not  strength  of  body  nor  material 
ability,  but  the  strength  of  sanctified  knowledge  and  devotion. 
Let  the  district  secretary  steep  himself  in  the  literature  of  mis- 
sions and  become  something  of  a  missionary  expert.  A  dozen 
selected  volumes  closely  read,  prayerfully  pondered,  will  give  in- 
creasing vision.  This  must  be  followed  by  careful  current  study 
of  the  manuscripts  and  debates  which  appear  every  week.  Many 
pastors  have  never  taken  time  to  think,  to  pray,  with  something 
of  agony  to  feel  their  way  to  the  heart  of  missions.  The  district 
missionary  secretary  must  do  this  until  he  knows  himself  to  be 
in  inner  companionship  with  Jesus  as  he  contemplates  the  un- 
gospeled  world  and  bows  over  it  in  compassion.  Thus  inwardly 
furnished  and  prepared  for  his  work  the  district  secretary  must 
be  careful  to — 

2.  Keep  in  touch  with  the  presiding  elder.     In  our  economy  Cooperation 
the  real  bishops  for  fifty-one  weeks  in  the  year  are  the  presiding 

elders,  and  the  district  missionary  secretary  must  always  remem- 


Preparing  for 
Leadership 


234 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


Study  of  the 
District 


Spreading  of 
Information 


Missionary 
Experts 


ber  that  he  is  the  elder's  secretary  in  missionary  matters,  and  be 
careful  therefore  to  consult  the  elder  and  secure  his  consent  and 
cooperation  for  every  proposed  plan. 

3.  Be  ivilling  to  assume  the  initiative.  That  is,  while  he  will 
do  nothing  without  the  consent  and  counsel  of  the  elder  he  will 
remember  that  the  elder  has  many  interests  to  care  for  besides 
missions.  He  must  therefore  not  wait  for  suggestions,  but  study 
his  district  and  devise  missionary  plans  suitable  for  its  special 
circumstances  when  used  with  the  elder's  backing.  He  will  find 
that  the  Disciplinary  plans  already  provided  are  the  outcome  of 
years  of  experience  and  profound  thought ;  but  these  provisions 
must  be  worked  out  variously,  and  this  will  call  for  constant  and 
close  attention. 

4.  Seek  to  sow  the  district  with  missionary  literature.  All  the 
people  cannot  go  to  our  conventions,  but  all  can  read,  and  do 
read  when  selected  matter  is  put  into  their  hands,  a  little  at  a  time, 
with  a  word  from  the  pastor.  Let  the  district  secretary  secure  a 
sample  of  every  tract  printed  by  the  Missionary  Society,  with  a 
price  list.  If  he  should  put  one  out  each  year  himself  it  would 
often  be  of  special  value.  From  time  to  time  call  the  district's 
attention  to  a  particular  tract  or  article  or  book.  Take,  for  in- 
stance, such  a  tract  as  "A  Great  Merchant's  Estimate,"  the  em- 
phatic testimony  of  Mr.  John  Wanamaker  to  the  value  of  invest- 
ment in  "Missions  in  India."  Such  a  statement  should  be  put 
before  the  eyes  of  every  Christian  man  in  this  country.  And 
above  all  secure  World-Wide  Missions  for  every  family  that  sub- 
scribes a  dollar.  There  are  still  scores  of  pastors  who  fail  to  do 
this,  though  no  better  paper  of  its  kind  can  be  found  on  this 
continent,  and  all  it  costs  is  the  trouble  of  furnishing  a  yearly  list. 

5.  Use  returned  missionaries.  They  are  not  all  great  speakers. 
Truth  to  tell,  the  pastors  at  home  are  not  either.  They  are  not 
all  good  "collection  getters."  Do  not  use  them  for  this  purpose. 
But  they  are  all  men  of  intelligence,  with  expert  knowledge  in 
this  particular  matter.  Make  frequent  inquiries  at  the  missionary 
office  for  a  suitable  missionary  and  arrange  an  itinerary  through 
the  district.  A  small  basket  collection  will  always  pay  expenses. 
Urge  the  pastors  to  secure  the  attendance  of  the  official  boards, 
League  cabinets,  Sunday  school  officers  and  teachers.  Let  the 
coming  of  the  missionary  be  an  event,  for  he  is  a  soldier  from 
the  front  who  at  least  is  able  to  tell  us  how  the  battle  goes.    And 


THE  DISTRICT    MISSIONARY   SECRETARY  235 

i 

often  he  does  so  with  such  grace  and  charm  and  power  as  is 
rarely  found  in  other  men. 

6.  Help  the  Epworth  Leagues.  The  district  secretary,  of  course,   The  Young 
will  be  very  close  to  the  Epworth  League  district  missionary  (3^^rch    ^ 
secretary,  for  the  latter  has  to  do  with  a  part,  and  a  very  im- 
portant part,  of  the  former's  field.    Sympathetic,  helpful  coopera- 
tion will  always  be  welcomed  by  the  young  life  of  the  Church. 

It  will  often  be  very  useful  to  show  the  League  missionary  offi- 
cials the  great  value  of  the  student  campaigner,  the  missionary 
libraries,  the  "Station  Plan"  method  of  increasing  knowledge  and 
gifts,  the  mission  study  classes,  etc. 

7.  Enlist  every  Sunday  school  superintendent's  help  to  organize  Sunday 
the  school  into  a  missionary  society,  and  refuse  to  allow  the  school  °  ' 
to  be  stampeded  into  assuming  financial  obligations  for  all  manner 

of  causes  that  have  no  Disciplinary  place  in  permanent  claims 
upon  the  offerings  of  the  school. 

8.  Guard  the  Missionary  Society's  interests  at  the  camp  meet-  Occasional 
ings,  conventions,  rallies,  etc.  The  managers  of  these  gatherings  *  ©"ngs 
usually  follow  the  lines  of  least  resistance.     Whatever  interests 

ask  for  representation  and  will  provide  suitable  speakers  are  likely 
to  be  favored.  The  result  is  that  in  very  few  camp  meetings,  and 
until  recently  in  very  few  district  gatherings,  is  the  work  of  the 
Missionary  Society  discussed  and  advocated  unless  a  special 
officer  of  the  Missionary  Society  be  in  attendance.  By  the  ap- 
pointment of  a  district  missionary  secretary  the  society  ought  to 
be  assured  that  on  every  appropriate  occasion  its  work  will  be 
described  and  its  rightful  claims  to  the  thought  and  afifection,  the 
prayers  and  gifts  of  our  people  will  be  set  forth.  It  will  be  the 
district  secretary's  care  to  see  that  "Missionary  Day"  shall  mean 
not  only  the  two  women's  societies,  with  all  the  splendid  work 
they  are  doing,  but  also  that  parent  society  out  of  which  they  have 
sprung,  for  whose  help  they  exist,  and  without  whom  their  work 
would  be  comparatively  meaningless  at  home  and  abroad. 

9.  And  this  chiefly :  He  will  get  the  elder  to  introduce  the  The  Iowa 
"Iowa  Plan"  of  missionary  subconventions  in  every  church  of  the 
district,  in  which  every  pastor  shall  set  forth  the  great  truths  of 
missions  to  his  neighbor  churches  before  he  takes  the  collection 
in  his  own.  I  call  this  the  "Iowa  Plan"  because  it  has  been  more 
generally  worked  there  than  in  any  other  State.  The  plan  is 
briefly  this :    The  district  is  divided  according  to  convenience  of 


Flan 


236 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


How  it 
Works 


A  New 

Missionary 

Day 


travel  into  from  four  to  eight  subdistricts.  On  the  appointed  day 
all  the  pastors  and  many  of  the  laymen  of  the  subdistrict  meet. 
Addresses  covering  the  whole  field  of  missions  are  delivered. 
Each  church  in  turn  entertains  the  subdistrict  convention.  The 
pastors  deliver  the  same  prepared  address  at  all  the  churches. 
The  speech  is  old ;  the  audience  is  new.  The  presiding  elder 
spends  a  month ;  each  pastor  spends  from  five  to  eight  days  in 
this  campaign.  At  the  close  every  church  has  been  reached,  local 
objections  and  misunderstandings  have  been  met.  Besides,  the 
pastors  themselves  have  each  prepared  a  new  missionary  address 
worthy  of  the  attention  of  his  fellow-preachers,  and  they  return 
to  their  own  churches  prepared  to  do  the  best  they  can.  It  is 
practically  a  yearly  missionary  revival,  and  is  better  than  any 
imported  help.  In  consequence  of  this  plan  Iowa  as  a  State  leads 
the  entire  middle  West.  The  figures  are  approximately  as  fol- 
lows :  Indiana,  33  cents  per  member ;  Michigan,  42  ;  Wisconsin, 
42;  Ohio,  43;  Illinois,  51;  and  Iowa,  54;  while  New  England 
is  47  and  New  York  57,  or  only  3  cents  a  member  ahead  of  Iowa, 
which  is  moving  up  fast.  I  attribute  in  very  large  degree  the 
missionary  intelligence  and  forward  movement  in  Iowa  to  this 
plan  of  missionary  subconventions,  which  bring  the  information 
and  enthusiasm  of  many  pastors  to  the  service  of  each  church. 
Here  is  room  for  very  real  helpfulness.  Secure  the  adoption  of 
the  "Iowa  Plan"  and  you  will  secure  every  pastor's  study  of  the 
current  facts  of  missions  and  every  church's  hearing  at  least  once 
a  year  from  other  lips  than  their  pastor,  from  whom  they  will 
hear  oftener  the  claims  of  the  Missionary  Society's  work  upon 
their  hearts  and  pocketbooks. 

In  a  word,  the  district  missionary  secretaries  will  greatly 
serve  the  cause  we  love  if  they  will  take  their  office  seriously 
and  become  in  preeminent  ways  eyes,  ears,  brain,  and  tongue  for 
the  Missionary  Society  in  their  own  districts.  This  will  mean  the 
investment  of  some  time,  much  thought  and  prayer,  and  some 
money.  Many  disappointments  and  discouragements  await  the 
earnest  worker,  but  the  office  is  full  of  possibilities,  and  God  is 
raising  up  and  will  raise  up  all  through  the  denomination  men 
who  will  impregnate  the  Church  with  such  a  leaven  of  a  larger 
missionary  knowledge  and  interest  as  will  make  possible  that 
glad  day  of  imperial  plans  and  effort  which  is  so  rapidly  coming. 
We  are  in  the  dawn  of  a  new  missionary  day.     The  Christless 


THE   DISTRICT    MISSIONARY   SECRETARY  237 

i 

nations  are  strangely  stirred.  The  mighty  forces  of  modern 
civiHzation  all  converge  upon  the  waking  of  ancient  peoples  out 
of  the  sleep  of  centuries.  Commerce,  science,  political  aggres- 
sion, all  combine  in  various  ways  to  shake  old  empires  from  the 
lethargy  of  the  benumbing  systems  under  which  they  have  lived. 
Uneasily  the  peoples  of  the  East  turn  from  the  darkling  twilight 
of  their  own  past  to  seek  that  which  will  fit  them  for  the  disturbed 
present  and  the  ominous  future.  Upon  what  shall  the  inquiring 
eyes  of  these  peoples  waking  from  the  sleep  of  the  centuries  rest  ? 
Where  shall  the  newly  stirring  nations  find  adequate  foundations 
for  the  new  civilization  they  must  build  ?  The  insistent  need  of 
the  day  is  for  the  Christian  missionary  and  for  the  multiplied  and 
invigorated  agencies  of  the  Christian  Church  to  cry  aloud  in 
all  lands,  "Other  foundation  can  no  man  lay  than  that  is  laid,  jesus  Christ 
which  is  Jesus  Christ."  The  truth  grows  patent  that  for  all  the  ^  ®  ^°^^. 
strenuous  life  of  our  new  time,  in  which  the  whole  world  nuist 
increasingly  find  itself  involved,  there  must  be  planted  deep  in 
the  heart  of  every  people  that  "fear  of  God"  which  is  the  begin- 
ning of  wisdom  and  that  love  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  which 
"casteth  out  fear"  of  the  untried  path  of  progress  up  which  the 
whole  human  family  is  led.  That  there  might  be  a  better  world 
about  us,  the  kingdom  of  heaven  must  find  its  place  universally 
within  us.  The  world's  great  birthday  into  true  life  will  be  that 
missionary  day  when  the  Church  will  overtake  the  ages-old  pro- 
gram of  her  Lord. 

It  is  the  high  privilege  of  the  district  missionary  secretary, 
amid  manifold  discouragements,  with  expenditure  of  time  and 
thought  and  money  to  hasten  the  Church  toward  the  high  noon 
of  the  missionary  day,  upon  which  the  long,  unending  progress 
of  humanity  depends. 


238 


THE    CLEVELAND   MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


The  Pivotal 
Man 


Pastoral 
Possibilities 


WHAT   THE   PASTOR   CAN   DO 

The   Rev.    J.   O.    Wilson,  D.D. 

I  HAVE  the  conviction  that  my  subject  requires  me  to  deal 
with  the  pivotal  man,  for  if  any  man  more  than  another  holds  the 
key  to  the  situation  it  is  the  pastor.  He  is  the  common  clay  out 
of  which  we  mold  our  missionaries,  editors,  secretaries,  book 
agents,  and  bishops.  All  these  chief  functionaries  were  once 
common  clay,  and  as  such  they  are  more  important  than  the  stamp 
of  the  mold  they  bear.  The  minister  is  greater  than  his  ofifice. 
We  are  all,  therefore,  equally  complirhented  by  the  assumption 
that  the  pastor,  more  than  any  other  man,  holds  the  key  to  the 
situation.  If  this  be  an  unwarrantable  assumption  we  shall  be 
much  relieved  of  an  oppressive  sense  of  responsibility.  But  if  it 
be  admitted  that  the  pastor  is  indeed  the  pivotal  man,  then  we 
desire  to  affirm  and  emphasize  what  we  conceive  to  be  the  im- 
perative need  of  the  cause  of  missions  at  the  dawn  of  the  twentieth 
century.  This  superlative  need  is  not  better  organization.  We 
have  machinery  to  let.  Nor  is  it  an  abler  secretarial  force,  nor 
more  heroic  and  self-sacrificing  missionaries,  but  a  missionary 
pastorate.  Make  all  our  pastors  missionaries  in  spirit  and  our 
membership  would  instantly  catch  the  contagion.  "Like  priest, 
like  people."  A  missionary  pastorate  will  give  us  a  missionary 
people,  and  a  missionary  people  will  give  us  an  overflowing 
treasury,  and  nothing  else  will. 

What,  then,  can  the  pastor  do?  Practically  nothing  unless  he 
be  fired  with  a  missionary  spirit.  If  in  his  soul  this  electric 
current  has  not  been  turned  on  and  he  has  refused  connection 
with  the  outside  world  he  is  a  cumberer  of  the  ground  and  only 
in  our  way.  Our  bishops  are  called  of  God  to  remove  such  an 
unworthy  man.  But  if  the  connections  have  all  been  made  and 
God  has  turned  on  the  current  no  other  man  can  more  electrify 
the  world  than  the  missionary  pastor.  His  Christ-given  creden- 
tials make  him  of  necessity  a  world  force.  He  is  God's  ambassa- 
dor to  all  nations,  with  passport  countersigned  by  Christ.  If  St. 
Peter  and  we  his  legitimate  successors  in  the  apostolate  do  not 
hold  the  keys  to  the  world's  evangelization,  who  does?  One 
need  not  become  an  editor,  or  secretary,  or  bishop,  before  he  can 
be  one  of  God's  world  forces.     Every  pastor  in  Christendom  is 


WHAT  THE   PASTOR   CAN   DO  239 

i 

such  a  force  by  virtue  of  his  office,  and  he  dare  not  shift  the 
responsibihty  by  decHning  the  honor.  Both  the  honor  and  the 
responsibihty  are  pecuharly  his  by  divine  appointment. 

Hence,  as  touching  the  cause  of  missions,  the  pastor's  obliga- 
tion is  twofold  and  imperative  : 

First,  he  must  conscientiously  relate  himself  to  the  treasury  of  A  Practical 
the  missionary  society  in  a  most  practical  way ;  practical,  for  ^  *  ^^^ 
this  world  w'ill  never  be  saved  by  theory  divorced  from  practice. 
An  ounce  of  practice  is  worth  a  ton  of  precept.  Every  pastor  is 
required,  not  only  by  the  Church,  but  by  the  Lord  of  the  Church, 
to  take  the  collection  for  missions,  and  to  see  that  that  collection 
fairly  represents  the  ability  of  his  congregation.  I  know  there 
are  pastors  who  do  not  admit  this  obligation.  They  neither  them- 
selves contribute  to  the  cause  of  missions  nor  urge  this  duty 
upon  their  people.  They  regard  the  handling  of  finances  of  any 
kind  as  beneath  a  true  minister's  dignity.  They  have  forgotten 
that  Jesus  once  stood  over  against  the  treasury  and  must  have 
been  interested  in  the  collection,  for  he  immortalized  one  of  the 
contributors.  A  rich  man  once  told  Christ  that  he  gave  the  half 
of  his  goods  to  feed  the  poor,  and  our  Lord  immediately  honored 
that  man  with  a  visit,  and  abode  at  his  house.  Christ  has  a  warm 
appreciation  of  the  fifty-per-cent  man,  though  he  has  found  com- 
paratively few  since  the  days  of  Zaccheus.  He  would  have  found 
many  if  his  ministers  had  been  on  the  lookout,  and  his  missionary 
treasury  would  not  have  been  so  sadly  depleted  but  for  the  sub- 
lime disinterestedness  of  too  many  pastors. 

There  is  a  vast  mine  of  wealth  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  A  Vast  Mine 
Church,  and  it  is  every  pastor's  duty  not  only  to  discover  that 
mine  but  also  to  work  it  for  the  kingdom  of  God.  In  this  day 
when  money  is  so  much  a  need  of  the  Church  we  are  inwardly 
glad  that  every  man  among  us  is  not  a  Lazarus.  God  did  not 
mean  that  Methodism  should  forever  impotently  lie  at  the  rich 
man's  gate,  but  that  we  should  one  day  carry  the  key  to  the  man- 
sion. That  day  has  come.  We  have  our  rich  men.  They  are 
numerous  and  would  be  much  more  generous  in  their  support 
of  missions  if  they  had  the  inspiration  of  a  truly  missionary 
pastorate. 

God's  call  for  such  a  pastorate  is  emphasized  by  our  access  to  The  Pastor's 
the  wealth  of  the  Church.     By  a  failure  to  respond  to  this  call   church's 
our  ministry  has  inadvertently  or  negligently  diverted   untold  Wealth 


240 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


thousands  from  the  missionary  treasury.  Never  in  the  history 
of  the  Church  was  there  a  time  when  God  called  so  loudly  for  a 
missionary  ministry  and  a  money-getting  pastorate.  To  preach 
men's  souls  into  heaven  is  our  first  duty ;  our  second  duty  is  to 
preach  their  hoarded  wealth  out  of  their  coffers  into  the  Lord's 
treasury.  Herein  is  our  responsibility.  Suppose  a  pastor  says, 
"I  do  not  care  to  work  this  mine."  God  cares,  for  this  wealth  is 
absolutely  essential  to  the  progress  of  his  kingdom  and  the 
salvation  of  the  heathen  world.  As  Christ  needed  the  gold  of 
the  wise  men  to  see  him  through  Egypt  in  his  infancy,  so  he 
needs  the  gold  of  the  rich  men  of  to-day  to  see  him  through 
Africa  and  China  and  Japan  and  India.  Somebody  must  get 
this  gold  for  Christ.  Who  must  do  it?  Why,  the  men  who 
ought  to  do  it,  Christ's  ministers,  to  whom  he  has  given  access 
to  the  wealth  of  his  people.  It  is  a  pastor's  imperative  duty  not 
only  to  inspire  men  to  give  their  hearts  to  God,  but  also  their 
wealth.  A  failure  to  do  this  has  crippled  God's  great  enterprises 
and  retarded  his  kingdom  a  thousand  years. 

But  not  alone  for  the  sake  of  God's  cause  in  the  earth  should  we 
urge  upon  men  the  duty  of  Christian  benevolence,  but  also  for 
the  sake  of  the  man  solicited.  For  if  holding  on  to  his  wealth 
sent  the  rich  young  ruler  to  perdition,  will  it  do  less  for  the  men 
of  to-day  ?  To  allow  them  to  try  the  experiment  without  an 
earnest  remonstrance  makes  us  criminally  responsible  before 
God.  One  of  the  very  best  ways  of  getting  men's  souls  for 
Christ  is  to  get  their  wealth  for  God.  Hence,  our  motive  in 
urging  men  generously  to  support  the  cause  of  missions  is  two- 
fold, the  salvation  of  the  heathen  and  the  salvation  of  the 
contributor.  By  urging  upon  men  the  duty  of  Christian  benevo- 
lence we  make  them  our  debtor.  By  tapping  their  mine  of  wealth 
we  enrich  them  more  than  they  enrich  the  Church.  Hence  I 
have  no  apology  to  ofifer  for  calling  on  men  to  help  God  save  a 
lost  world.  God  never  meant  an  apostle  to  be  an  apologist !  In 
carrying  forward  his  great  missionary  enterprises  God  needs 
large  capital,  millions!  Let  every  pastor  turn  missionary  and 
practically  relate  himself  to  the  missionary  treasury,  and  these 
required  millions  shall  be  forthcoming.  This  every  pastor  can 
do  and  ought  to  do  for  so  great  a  cause. 

But  great  as  this  obligation  is  it  is  not  his  first  duty.  The  truly 
missionary  pastor  is  called  of  God,  not  primarily  to  take  the  mis- 


WHAT    THE    PASTOR    CAN    DO  24I 

sionary  collection,  but  to  make  missionaries  and  to  create  in  the  Creating  a 
earth  a  missionary  Church.  This  is  clearly  apparent  in  the  ^"^1^°"^ 
teaching  office  of  the  pastor.  His  commission  reads,  "Go  teach 
all  nations."  The  pastor  is  God's  instructor  of  the  people,  his 
mouthpiece  to  the  nations.  He  must  receive  from  Christ  great 
draughts  of  the  missionary  spirit  and  rebreathe  it  into  the  souls 
of  men.  As  Christ's  words  fairly  glowed  with  missionary 
warmth,  so  must  the  words  of  his  representatives.  If  every 
church  in  Methodism  is  not  a  missionary  church  it  is  because  the 
minister  in  the  pulpit  has  not  properly  used  his  teaching  office. 
Every  pastor  may  have  and  will  have  a  missionary  church  if  he 
will  patiently  and  persistently  urge  upon  his  people  these  con- 
siderations : 

First,  the  imperative  obligation  of  heart  growth  with  reference  Heart 
to  missions.  The  truly  missionary  heart  is  a  thing  of  growth.  ^°^ 
It  is  to  be  developed  as  the  student  develops  his  mind  or  the 
athlete  his  muscle.  We  must  grow  it  as  the  farmer  grows  grain. 
When  God  commands  us  to  "grow  in  grace"  he  is  speaking  of 
heart  growth.  This  is  peculiarly  true  of  the  missionary  heart. 
H  one  would  have  it  he  must  grow  it.  It  will  not  grow  itself. 
In  this  it  resembles  the  skilled  hand,  the  powerful  arm,  the  taste 
for  music,  the  love  of  art,  and  the  gift  of  oratory.  These  all  are 
things  of  growth.  Demosthenes  was  not  a  prodigy,  but  a  growth, 
a  development.  Raphael  cultivated  his  love  of  art,  or  we  should 
never  have  had  the  Sistine  Madonna.  He  grew  the  artist's  soul 
before  he  painted  the  artist's  picture.  Angelo's  "David"  gives 
proof  that  the  soul  of  the  sculptor  was  full-grown.  Beethoven 
had  cultivated  his  musical  taste  fifty  years  before  he  gave  to  the 
world  his  masterpiece — the  "Ninth  Symphony."  Paul's  mission- 
ary heart  was  a  thing  of  growth.  "He  stirred  up  the  gift  that 
was  in  him."  But  such  a  heart  growth  implies  an  abundance 
of  wholesome  food.  It  must  daily  feed  and  feast  on  missionary 
information.  Statistics,  when  properly  digested,  are  not  dry,  but  Abundance  of 
fattening.  They  put  flesh  on  the  dry  bones  and  new  blood  in 
the  sluggish  veins.  The  soul  that  can  remain  lean  in  the  presence 
of  the  stupendous  missionary  movements  of  our  age  is  either 
grossly  ignorant  or  possessed  of  devils  which  turn  the  truth  into 
a  lie.  Such  missionary  information  will  compel  a  corresponding 
heart  growth  unless  our  people  are  spiritually  dead.  Every  pastor 
in  his  teaching  office  can  put  this  missionary  information  within 
16 


242 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


The  Wider 
Vision 


A  Pastor 
not  to  be 
Localized 


Model 
Missionaries 


the  reach  of  all  his  people.  He  can  produce  a  missionary  church, 
by  urging  upon  his  people  the  duty  of  heart  growth  along  mis- 
sionary lines.  This  he  can  do  and  this  he  ought  to  do.  Both 
God  and  the  Church  demand  the  prompt  payment  of  this  im- 
perious obligation. 

His  next  duty  is  to  urge  upon  his  people  the  cultivation  of  the 
wider  vision,  the  broadening  of  their  spiritual  horizon.  If  one 
would  grow  the  missionary  heart  he  must  betake  himself  to 
world  thoughts,  world  plans,  world  sympathies,  world  benevo- 
lence, and  world  prayers.  He  must  fall  in  love  with  the  world, 
whatever  its  color,  for  a  man's  soul  does  not  always  correspond 
to  the  color  of  his  skin.  There  are  white  men  with  black  souls 
and  black  men  with  white  souls.  When  Christ  came  to  redeem 
the  world  he  did  not  draw  the  color  line.  He  died  for  the  world, 
and  we  insult  his  breadth  of  plan  when  we  restrict  the  benefits 
of  the  atonement  to  our  little  corner.  Cleveland  is  not  the  world, 
nor  Chicago,  nor  New  York,  nor  Paris,  nor  London ;  they  are 
only  a  little  section  of  it,  a  mere  fragment.  We  should  be 
ashamed  to  offer  Christ  a  fragment  when  he  died  for  the  whole. 

As  a  pastor  I  refuse  to  be  localized.  I  resent  the  idea  that  I  am 
simply  a  New  York  preacher.  I  am  an  American  preacher.  I 
am  a  cosmopolitan  preacher.  God  has  given  me  an  audience  of 
nations  and  of  continents.  With  Christ  and  with  Wesley  I  claim 
the  world  for  my  parish,  and  God  insists  that  my  Church  shall 
have  a  parish  not  less  extended.  Christ's  dream  was  of  universal 
empire,  and  we  dare  not  entertain  a  dream  less  wide.  Let  this 
great  thought  have  proper  birth  in  the  soul,  and  every  Christian 
will  be  transformed  into  a  missionary  the  boundary  of  whose 
parish  shall  be  the  limits  of  the  world  itself.  Our  world  of  en- 
deavor must  be  Christ's  world.  The  pastor  who  allows  his 
congregation  to  side-track  this  stupendous  truth,  or  to  substitute 
for  it  a  self-centered  or  local  interest,  owes  an  apology  to  earth 
and  heaven.  He  can  and  must  make  his  Church  a  world  force  by 
urging  upon  his  people  the  duty  of  heart  growth  along  mission- 
ary lines,  and  the  cultivation  of  the  wider  vision. 

But  for  the  highest  inspiration  let  him  urge  upon  his  people 
the  constant  study  of  models,  or  model  missionaries.  How  may 
a  man  become  a  perfect  artist?  There  must  be  the  artist's  fancy 
at  bottom,  and  then  the  study  of  models.  H  one  aspires  to  be  a 
great  painter  he  must  study  the  old  masters,  all  of  them.     He 


WHAT   THE    PASTOR    CAN    DO  243 

goes  to  Titian  for  brilliancy  of  coloring,  to  Rubens  for  mechanical 
perfection  and  joyousness  in  animal  vigor,  and  to  Raphael  for 
purity  and  religious  emotion.  He  must  seek  to  blend  the  excel- 
lences of  each  into  a  unity  of  perfection  of  which  he  shall  be  the 
fitting  exponent.  Genius  as  the  foundation — the  faithful  study 
of  models  as  the  superstructure.  In  just  this  way  must  one 
acquire  the  perfect  missionary  heart.  First  there  must  be  the 
God-touched  nature  within,  then  the  study  of  model  missionaries. 
And  what  glorious  models  God  has  given  the  Church !  Bishop 
Taylor — that  noble,  self-sacrificing,  lion-hearted  lover  of  races 
and  of  continents.  He  has  come  to  this  Convention,  a  delegate 
from  heaven,  I  fancy,  and,  lo !  he  has  brought  with  him  Africa 
and  the  world.  What  an  inspiring  model !  And  here  is  Paul, 
still  carrying  on  his  great  heart  Macedonia,  and  Ephesus,  and 
Athens,  and  Rome,  and  "the  regions  beyond."  What  an  inspiring 
model !  And  here,  too,  is  Christ,  the  only  perfect  model.  He 
was  four  thousand  years  reaching  his  mission  station,  and  scarcely 
had  he  begun  his  work  when  the  wicked  heathen  crucified  him 
between  two  thieves.  But  the  boundless  love  of  the  missionary 
made  him  gladly  die  to  save  a  heathen  world.  "God  had  but  one 
Son,  and  he  became  a  foreign  missionary."  And  what  a  model 
he  gave  the  Church  ! 

Ah !  why  is  there  such  a  humiliating  contrast  between  our  lives  The 
and  these  lofty-souled  missionaries,  Taylor,  Paul,  and  Christ,  Heart*"*^^ 
who  call  to  us  from  the  far  heights?  Because  we  have  not 
grown  the  missionary  heart,  nor  cultivated  the  wider  vision,  nor 
properly  studied  our  models  as  men  of  world  thought  and  world 
endeavor  and  world  love.  O  for  a  missionary  pastorate  worthy 
to  wear  the  mantle  of  its  missionary  Lord — a  pastorate  which 
shall  create  throughout  the  earth  a  missionary  Church  and  fire 
it  with  a  deathless  purpose  to  bring  the  world  to  Christ ! 


244 


THE    CLEVELx\ND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


Determina- 
tion and 
High  Aim 


Organization 


How  Make 

Meetings 

Interesting 


Missionary 
Libraries 


WHAT  THE   SUNDAY  SCHOOL  SUPER- 
INTENDENT CAN   DO 

Mr,    Willis    W.    Cooper 

The  Sunday  school  superintendent  must  have  a  determination 
to  place  his  school  in  the  front  rank  of  those  which  would  do  great 
things  for  missions.  He  must  aim  high  and  must  ever  remember 
that  no  faint-hearted  general  ever  scaled  a  height  or  won  a  battle. 
He  must  be  courageous,  even  audacious,  in  his  determination,  as 
well  as  wise  in  his  leadership. 

Organization  is  the  next  essential.  The  school  should  be  or- 
ganized as  a  missionary  society,  with  a  president,  vice  president, 
secretary,  and  treasurer,  as  is  provided  and  outlined  in  the  Ap- 
pendix to  the  Discipline.  The  superintendent  should  see  that  the 
society  never  misses  holding  its  regular  meetings.  He  should 
realize  that  the  missionary  cause  is  the  most  important  branch  of 
Church  work.  The  spirit  of  conquest  should  take  possession  of 
his  soul,  and  with  this  spirit  let  him  realize  the  great  responsibility 
as  well  as  the  great  privilege  of  enlisting  an  army  of  young 
people  in  the  principal  business  of  the  Church,  namely,  that  of 
sending  the  Gospel  to  all  nations,  thus  fulfilling  the  last  command 
of  the  Saviour.  The  monthly  meeting  is  the  invaluable  medium 
through  which  the  superintendent  may  reach  every  member  of  his 
school. 

These  meetings  can  be  made  most  interesting  and  instructive 
by  the  use  of  readings  from  our  wealth  of  missionary  literature, 
by  exhibitions  of  missionary  curios,  letters  from  missionaries  in 
the  field,  map  exercises  (showing  the  location  of  missionary  sta- 
tions), description  of  missionary  countries,  concerts,  recita- 
tions, etc. 

The  superintendent  should  see  that  the  library  is  well  supplied 
with  missionary  books,  or,  better  still,  see  that  a  separate  mission- 
ary library  is  secured,  in  which  shall  be  placed  all  of  the  latest  and 
best  missionary  books  as  fast  as  they  come  from  the  press.  The 
circulation  of  these  books  is  most  important ;  for  without  reading 
our  people  cannot  become  intelligent  and  informed  concerning  a 
subject  of  such  vast  range  and  importance.  In  these  later  days 
there  is  no  longer  any  difficulty  in  obtaining  suitable  books. 
Some  of  the  most  intensely  interesting  books  written  are  of  mis- 


THE    SUNDAY    SCHOOL    SUPRRTNTENDRNT  245 

sionary  achievement  and  experience.  They  read  Hke  me  most 
thrilling  romance.  The  superintendent  should  read  the  books 
himself  and  never  lose  an  opportunity  of  calling  attention  to  their 
delightful  charm  and  to  the  importance  of  every  member  of  his 
school  reading  them.  A  school  which  will  read  missionary  litera- 
ture cannot-but  become  enthusiastic  in  the  support  of  missions. 

Two  of  the  most  carefully  selected  libraries  arc  available  at 
the  lowest  possible  cost,  namely,  those  prepared  by  the  Student 
Missionary  Campaign,  57  Washington  Street,  Chicago,  Illinois ; 
Xo.  I,  with  sixteen  volumes,  and  No.  2,  with  twenty  volumes. 
Either  of  them  can  be  secured  at  the  small  cost  of  ten  dollars. 

A  book  committee  should  be  appointed,  whose  first  business   Book 
shall  be  to  read  the  books  and  other  literature  in  the  missionary   Co™™i"«« 
library,  and  as  fast  as  read  to  hand  them  to  other  members  of  the 
school,  at  the  same  time  securing  a  promise  that  they  will  in  turn 
read  and  recommend  others  to  read  in  order  that  the  entire  school 
may  become  interested  in  the  cause  of  missions. 

The  officers  of  the  Sunday  school  missionary  society  (the  Sun-  Officers' 
day  school  superintendent  being  one  of  them)  should  hold  regular 
monthly  meetings  and  carefully  plan  the  exercises  for  the  meet- 
ings on  Missionary  Sunday.  This  board  should  meet  and  plan 
with  the  pastor  for  making  the  most  of  each  opportunity  of  pre- 
senting the  subject  of  missions  to  the  school.  They  should  visit 
the  local  meetings  of  the  Woman's  Home  and  Foreign  Missionary 
Societies  and  correspond  with  leaders  in  other  schools,  thus 
seeking  to  learn  of  the  best  methods  of  creating  missionary  intel- 
ligence and  enthusiasm.  Such  a  board,  meeting  monthly  for  real 
aggressive  work,  cannot  fail  to  catch  the  missionary  spirit. 

The  Sunday  school  superintendent  should  keep  the  cause  promi-  Collection 
nently  before  the  school.  Perhaps  the  best  method  is  to  prepare  ^^^^^^ 
a  chart  large  enough  to  be  seen  plainly  from  all  parts  of  the  Sun- 
day school  room,  across  which  shall  be  ruled  columns  standing 
for  each  month  in  the  year.  Then  crossing  these  there  should  be 
vertical  columns  to  represent  the  Conference  years.  Here  the 
monthly  collections  can  be  marked,  and  thus  by  comparing  with 
previous  months  or  with  the  same  month  of  the  preceding  year, 
the  school  can  see  whether  or  not  it  is  falling  behind  or  increasing 
in  its  offering.  A  skillful  superintendent  can  urge  the  school  to 
constant  effort  that  it  may  excel  all  previous  records.  A  chart 
record  so  prepared  will  be  a  constant  reminder  to  the  superintend- 


246  THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 

ent  as  well  as  to  the  entire  school  that  it  has  an  important  duty  to 
perform,  and  it  will  be  impossible  to  overlook  the  recurring 
monthly  service.  We  know  of  a  number  of  schools  which  have 
adopted  this  plan  and  have  quadrupled  their  collections. 

A  considerable  sum  can  be  gathered  up  each  year  by  an  agree- 
ment on  the  part  of  the  school  that  each  member  shall  give  as  a 
thank  offering  on  the  Sabbath  nearest  his  birthday  one  cent  for 
each  year  of  his  age.  The  superintendent  can  make  a  place  in  the 
program  of  the  school  at  which  time  he  shall  ask  the  question: 
"Who  has  had  a  birthday  during  the  past  week  ?"  Then  he  shall 
give  an  opportunity  for  any  such  to  come  forward  and  give  the 
offering  to  the  treasurer  of  the  society.  These  sums  should  not 
be  publicly  announced,  lest  some  sensitive  person  should  be  em- 
barrassed. The  superintendent  can  stimulate  the  offering  by 
keeping  posted  and  stating  as  the  year  progresses  the  aggregate 
dollars  collected  for  this  fund.  The  secretary  can  perform  an 
important  part  in  this  work  by  keeping  a  birthday  record  of  the 
membership  of  the  school,  and  by  the  use  of  a  neatly  printed  card 
of  congratulation  and  good  wishes  mailed  to  such  members  before 
the  Sabbath  nearest  the  birthday  remind  them  of  the  "Birthday 
Thank  Offering  Fund."  A  secretary  who  loves  the  cause  of  mis- 
sions will  find  the  small  labor  of  such  a  task  delightful. 

The  primary  department  should  be  organized  in  all  essentials 
as  is  the  older  section. 

The  superintendent  who  is  observing  will  have  found  that  the 
class  spirit  which  is  so  stimulating  in  our  institutions  of  learning 
can  be  engendered  in  the  Sunday  school.  The  social  life  in  the 
school  can  be  used  to  help  the  cause  of  missions.  Class  receptions 
and  entertainments  can  be  held  for  the  worthy  purpose  of  raising 
money  for  the  missionary  cause.  Most  delightful  programs,  con- 
sisting of  music,  recitations,  etc.,  may  be  arranged,  at  which 
refreshments  may  or  may  not  be  served.  An  admission  fee  can 
be  charged  or  freewill  offerings  taken.  These  reunions  will 
doubly  serve  to  cement  fellowship  and  raise  money  for  the  spread 
of  the  Gospel.  By  wise  planning  on  the  part  of  the  superintendent 
and  the  Sunday  school  missionary  board  a  healthy  rivalry  between 
the  several  classes  of  the  school  can  be  promoted. 

The  superintendent  is  regarded  as  an  example  of  all  that  is 
good.  He  can  do  much  to  stimulate  heroic  giving  by  leading  in 
the  several  methods  here  outlined,  especially  by  being  careful  to 


THE    SUNDAY    SCHOOL    SUPERINTENDENT  247 

observe  the  birthday  offerings,  and  to  be  present  at  tlie  class   The 
receptions.     He  cannot  consistently  urge  others  to  faithfulness   Supenntend- 
unless  he  himself  is  faithful.     If  he  is  able,  and  is  a  faithful   Example 
steward  of  the  Lord  in  the  cause  of  missions,  he  can  offer  on  Mis- 
sionary Sunday  to  add  one  dollar  to  the  collection  of  the  class  that 
will  give  most  liberally.    Or  he  can  offer  to  match  with  his  per- 
sonal contribution,  on  a  particular  Rally  Sunday,  a  dollar  for 
every  other  dollar  that  the  school  will  contribute,  and  urge  them 
to  be  as  liberal  as  possible,  thus  securing  a  handsome  contribution 
for  that  Sunday.    Or  a  similar  proposition  might  be  made  at  the 
closing  of  the  Conference  year,  making  all  four  Sundays  in  the 
last  month  Missionary  Sundays.    A  wise  Sunday  school  superin- 
tendent can  plan  his  finances  for  this  benevolence  in  such  a  way 
that  his  example  in  giving  will  be  a  great  stimulus  to  hundreds  of 
others. 

As  a  general  depends  upon  his  subordinate  officers,  or  the  The  Corps  of 
president  upon  his  cabinet,  to  help  him  plan  and  carry  forward 
his  policy,  so  the  wise  superintendent  will  enlist  his  corps  of 
teachers  in  the  enterprise  of  saving  not  only  the  members  of  his 
school  for  Christ,  but  also  the  millions  beyond  the  sea.  His 
teachers  have  confidence  in  him  as  their  chosen  leader  and  will 
rally  around  him  if  he  will  call  them  to  his  aid.  If  the  teachers 
can  be  induced  to  enter  enthusiastically  into  all  of  the  plans  for 
missions  they  w-ill  carry  the  school.  Next  to  the  parent,  the  Sun- 
day school  teacher  is  loved  and  revered  by  the  child.  Hence,  by 
all  means,  the  superintendent  should  see  that  his  teachers  are  in 
thorough  harmony  with  him  in  his  efforts  to  bring  the  school  to 
its  highest  possible  standard  in  missionary  achievement. 

Much  can  be  done  to  stimulate  missionary  interest  in  the  Sun-  Support  of 
day  school  by  becoming  responsible  for  the  support  of  one  or  cjjiidren 
more  workers  in  the  foreign  field.  Ten  to  fifteen  dollars  will  keep 
a  boy  in  one  of  our  schools  in  the  foreign  field  for  a  year.  A  four- 
years'  course  will  give  him  a  practical  Christian  education,  at  the 
end  of  which  time  he  will  go  out  into  life  to  speak  for  the  Chris- 
tian religion.  Photographs  of  such  boys  can  be  secured  from  the 
teachers  in  our  foreign  schools,  and  at  small  expense  they  can  be 
enlarged,  framed,  and  hung  upon  the  walls  of  the  Sunday  school 
room,  and  thus  become  a  silent  object  lesson  and  a  constant  in- 
spiration to  the  school.  Several  such  boys  can  be  supported  from 
the  birthday  offering  alone. 


248 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


A  pastor-teacher  can  be  supported  in  the  foreign  field  for  from 
thirty  to  fifty  dollars  per  year.  A  teacher  or  class  in  our  home 
field  will  be  delighted  with  the  noble  effort  and  sacrifice  necessary 
for  such  a  deed.  The  boys  or  teachers  thus  supported  will  gladly 
write  letters  to  the  school  or  individual  furnishing  the  support. 
Their  letters  will  be  translated  by  the  members  of  the  foreign 
school  and  read  in  our  home  school.  They  thus  become  "Hve 
wires,"  furnishing  information,  inspiration,  and  encouragement 
to  us,  and  leading  us  to  do  still  greater  things  for  the  sake  of  Him 
who  first  loved  us. 

We  are  on  the  eve  of  the  greatest  missionary  awakening  the 
world  has  ever  seen,  and  the  time  is  not  far  distant  when  we  shall 
come  to  feel  that  it  is  the  height  of  selfishness  to  expend  thou- 
sands of  dollars  annually  for  our  own  comfort  and  pleasure  in 
church  services,  with  expensive  church  choir,  organist,  and 
"star"  preachers,  while  we  are  giving  a  paltry  few  hundred  dollars 
for  the  help  of  those  who  are  dying  without  the  knowledge  of 
Christ.  As  fast  as  possible  the  Sunday  school  superintendent 
should  educate  the  pupils  in  his  school  to  believe  that  the  very 
least  they  can  do  is  to  become  responsible  for  the  support  of  a 
pastor  in  mission  fields  equal  in  ability  to  the  one  who  preaches 
in  their  own  pulpit.  Perhaps  some  member  of  his  school  will  be 
their  representative,  and  the  "live  wire"  will  be  attended  with 
intensified  interest. 

The  Sunday  school  superintendent  can  do  most  for  the  cause 
of  missions  by  giving  himself.  He  may  not  be  able  to  go  per- 
sonally to  the  foreign  field,  but  if  he  in  any  sense  sees  his  oppor- 
tunity he  must  feel  upon  him  the  responsibility  of  keeping  one  or 
more  representatives  at  the  front  of  the  battle.  God  will  hold 
him  responsible.  If  he  reads  the  current  reports  from  the  field, 
he  will  learn  that  our  missionaries  are  "sick  at  heart"  because  of 
the  pleading  of  the  heathen  for  missionaries  to  teach  them  the 
way  of  life.  These  cannot  be  sent  because  of  the  lack  of  funds 
with  which  to  pay  the  transportation  charges  and  support  of  hun- 
dreds of  our  best  young  men  and  women  who  are  not  only  willing 
but  anxious  to  respond  to  the  Macedonian  cry  for  help.  The 
Sunday  school  superintendents  must  be  brought  to  see  their 
responsibility  as  well  as  their  opportunity. 

If  the  three  million  pupils  and  teachers  of  our  thirty 
thousand  schools  would  give  but  a  penny  a  week  for  missions,  it 


THE   SUNDAY    SCHOOL    SUPERINTENDENT  249 

would  amount  to  more  than  a  million  and  a  half  per  year.  But  Potential 
such  a  standard  is  by  far  too  low ;  every  school  could  easily  ^^^°S 
average  five  times  this  amount.  Upon  the  superintendent  rests 
the  responsibility  for  which  he  must  account  to  his  Maker.  The 
Sunday  school  superintendent  by  giving  himself  to  the  cause  of 
missions  can  hasten  the  day  when  he  shall  see  his  Lord.  //  is 
possible  to  ez'angcli.-^e  the  ivorld  in  this  generation,  and  he  must 
see  that  by  withholding  his  enthusiastic  support  he  is  withholding 
the  talent  which  the  Lord  has  placed  in  his  hands.  It  is  a  tre- 
mendous responsibility,  and  can  be  released  only  by  a  complete 
consecration  to  the  cause  for  which  the  Saviour  came  to  this 
world. 

The  Sunday  school  superintendent  by  giving  himself  to  the  Reflex 
cause  of  missions  will  be  the  means  of  building  up  the  cause  of  I^^^i^ices 
Christ  in  his  own  community.  It  has  never  been  known  to  fail 
that  in  some  way  God  particularly  blesses  the  church  or  school 
which  possesses  the  "missionary  spirit."  Just  as  this  spirit  is 
manifest  will  they  prosper,  both  financially  and  numerically. 
Hundreds  of  instances  can  be  named  where  the  missionary  col- 
lections having  been  doubled,  the  membership  of  the  church  and 
the  collections  for  all  other  benevolences  and  Church  interests  have 
likewise  doubled. 

If  the  Sunday  school  superintendent  will  give  himself  to  the  what  One 
cause  of  missions  he  will  intensify  his  own  life  and  experience  ^*°  ^*°  ^^ 
and  will  help  to  edify  and  build  up  the  Christian  character  of  those 
under  his  charge — the  children  and  young  people  w^ho  are  the 
hope  of  the  Church  for  to-morrow.  It  is  all-important  that  the 
coming  type  of  Christians  shall  be  noble,  liberal,  and  Christlike  in 
character.  One  consecrated  man  in  each  church  whose  zeal  is 
constantly  at  white  heat  will  do  more  to  inspire  those  whose  lives 
he  touches  than  a  thousand  listless,  worldly,  selfish  "professors  of 
religion."  What  nobler  cause  than  missions  can  possess  a  Christ- 
like man?  Who  stands  before  the  people  with  a  greater  oppor- 
tunity in  his  grasp  than  the  Sunday  school  superintendent  ? 


250 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


A  Mother  of 
ChurcheB 


A  Postponed 
Foneral 


Increasing 
Benevolences 


WHAT  A   LOCAL  CHURCH    HAS   DONE 

The   Rev.   J.    W.    Magruder 

A  LOCAL  church  in  a  great  city  has  accomphshed  something  if 
it  has  remained  downtown  without  running  down  grade,  and  if 
it  has  become  a  contributor  to  missions  without  itself  becoming 
a  mission  dependent  upon  a  missionary  society.  That  is  a  part 
of  the  achievement  of  Wesley  Chapel,  Cincinnati.  The  mother 
and  grandmother  of  nearly  every  Methodist  church  in  Cincinnati 
and  vicinity,  "Old  Wesley"  all  but  sacrificed  her  own  life  in 
giving  birth  to  her  many  children,  and  in  feeding  and  clothing  a 
swarm  of  grandchildren  who  were  not  always  overscrupulous 
about  living  upon  her  bounty.  The  time  came  when  she  reached 
the  poverty  line,  and  to  save  herself  from  eviction  she  was  com- 
pelled to  put  a  mortgage  of  $10,000  upon  her  old  home,  and  the 
property  sank  into  decay. 

To-day,  to  use  an  expression  of  Dr.  Buckley,  she  has  "renewed 
the  longevity  of  her  youth,"  and  is  setting  the  pace  for  her 
numerous  offspring  in  a  way  which  makes  them  rather  proud  of 
their  lineage.  Her  funeral  has  been  postponed.  All  talk  about 
turning  her  into  a  mission  has  ceased.  She  insists  upon  continu- 
ing as  a  church.  She  knows  by  experience  how  much  of  truth  is  in 
the  rather  shocking  declaration  of  the  Rev.  George  L.  McNutt, 
that  poor  people  of  the  self-respecting  sort  "may  go  to  hell,  but 
they  will  not  go  to  a  mission."  The  poor  do  not  want  a  mission 
any  more  than  the  rich  do;  in  fact,  not  so  much  so,  for  some  of 
the  rich  want  missions — "for  poor  people."  Wesley  Chapel  per- 
sists in  maintaining  her  church  standing.  With  a  seating  ca- 
pacity exceeded  by  only  three  other  Protestant  churches  in  the 
city,  and  with  an  enrollment  of  718  full  members,  she  has  become 
a  factor  to  be  reckoned  with.  Last  year  she  paid  into  the  Mis- 
sionary Society  as  much  as  all  the  other  ten  downtown  churches 
and  $13  over,  or  a  total  of  $1,060. 

The  beginning  of  better  days  came  when  she  cleared  off  her 
mortgage  indebtedness,  and  hit  upon  the  idea  of  obeying  the  rule 
of  her  own  Discipline  against  "borrowing  without  a  probability 
of  paying;  or  taking  up  goods  without  a  probability  of  paying 
for  them."  At  that  time  the  amount  of  her  contributions  to  the 
Missionary  Society  was  not  a  matter  of  record.     But  later,  in 


WHAT   A   LOCAL   CHURCH    HAS  DONE  25 1 

i 

1889,  I  find  that  her  total  benevolences  amounted  to  $629,  of 
which  $396  was  for  missions.  In  1892,  at  the  end  of  the  pas- 
torate of  my  honored  predecessor,  the  total  benevolence  had 
risen  to  $1,036,  of  which  $500  was  for  missions.  Then  came  the 
panic  of  1893,  when  there  would  have  been  an  inevitable  slump 
had  not  the  people  nerved  themselves  to  heroic  giving;  and 
twenty-seven  of  them  organized  into  a  Christian  Stewards* 
League,  after  the  plan  of  Thomas  Kane,  the  well-known  Chicago 
"layman."  The  total  benevolences  kept  on  rising  until  they 
reached  $1,830;  of  which  $576  was  for  missions.  In  May,  1895, 
the  final  feature  in  the  evolution  of  their  financial  plan  was 
added,  by  supplementing  the  old  subscription  plan  with  the  now 
much-mooted  tithing  system. 

Little  did  anyone  at  that  time  imagine  they  were  inaugurating  How  a 
a  scheme  which  would  erelong  be  of  interest  to  Methodists  and  ^arted*°* 
multitudes  of  Protestants  throughout  the  world.  It  began  at  a 
little  dinner  party  given  by  one  of  the  official  members  and  his 
wife  to  the  pastor  and  two  other  officials  and  their  wives.  The 
question  of  church  finance  was  introduced — the  inevitable  topic ; 
for  where  two  or  three  members  of  an  official  board  are  gathered 
together,  there  is  the  subject  of  finance  sure  to  be  in  the  midst 
of  them.  But  one  of  the  party,  who  was  "a  lawyer  and  an  honest 
man,"  had  something  new  to  offer.  The  struggle  for  existence 
which,  he  declared,  had  been  exhausting  the  energies  of  Wesley 
Chapel  for  nearly  twenty  years  was  not  peculiar  to  her.  Nor  was 
it  due  to  her  being  a  downtown  church  whose  well-to-do  members 
had  gone  to  heaven  or  to  the  suburbs.  The  same  shaky  or  in- 
solvent condition  was  characteristic  of  all  churches,  urban,  sub- 
urban, and  rural.  Scarcely  one  was  in  easy  financial  condition. 
Nearly  all  have  chronic  deficiencies,  and  resort  to  special  collec- 
tions and  catchpenny  schemes  to  meet  their  annual  budget.  There 
was  something  radically  wrong.  Either  the  great  Head  of  the 
Church  is  lacking  in  business  sense  or  else  he  has  some  kind  of  a 
system  of  finance.  "Now,"  said  he,  'T  have  been  looking  into 
this  matter  and  studying  the  Scripture  from  Genesis  to  Revela- 
tion; and  I  find  that  the  tithe,  which  thousands  of  Christians 
everywhere  have  covenanted  to  set  apart  for  religious  and 
benevolent  purposes,  was  not  intended  to  be  scattered  broadcast 
according  to  individual  notion  or  caprice ;  but  in  every  instance 
mentioned  in  the  Scripture  'the  whole  tithe'  was  to  be  brought 


252 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


One  Man 
with  a 
Conviction 


SesultB  of 
Tithing 


'into  the  storehouse,'  that  is,  the  church,  to  which  every  tither 
belongs." 

I  need  scarcely  say  that  we  at  once  withstood  this  lawyer  to 
his  face,  and  denounced  his  "Hebrew  old-clothes  philosophy." 
Not  one  of  the  stock  objections  to  the  tithing  system  was  allowed 
to  go  by  default.  We  exposed  its  narrowness,  its  burdensome- 
ness,  its  inequity,  its  impracticability ;  it  was  legalism  and  literal- 
ism gone  mad.  As  for  ourselves,  we  were  no  longer  "under  the 
law,  but  under  grace."  His  final  reply  was:  "You  may  lean  to 
your  understandings,  if  you  like,  just  as  all  the  people  have  been 
doing.  But  your  church  will  sink  into  poverty  and  pauperism, 
devoid  of  spiritual  life  and  power,  subsisting  on  oyster  soup  and 
ice  cream  and  pink  tea,  clothed  in  crazy  quilts  and  the  left-over 
remnants  of  people's  pocketbooks.  For  my  part,  I  am  tired  of 
this  tramping  in  the  wilderness.  Anaks  or  no  Anaks,  I  have 
made  up  my  mind  that,  beginning  next  Sunday,  I  will  pay  the 
price  which  all  must  pay  if  we  ever  are  to  cross  over  into  the 
promised  land."  The  upshot  of  it  was  that  the  rest  of  the  party 
followed  this  lead,  the  pastor  bringing  up  the  rear ;  the  under- 
standing being  that  as  Methodists  we  believed  in  experimental 
religion  and  would  subject  the  tithing  system  to  the  test  of 
experience,  and  that  we  would  accept  the  challenge,  "Prove  me 
now  herewith,  saith  Jehovah  of  hosts,  if  I  will  not  open  you  the 
windows  of  heaven,  and  pour  you  out  a  blessing,  that  there  shall 
not  be  room  enough  to  receive  it." 

The  official  board  were  slow  about  sanctioning  the  innovation. 
But  when  they  came  to  understand  that  the  advocates  of  the  new 
system  were  not  proposing  to  supersede  the  old  subscription  plan, 
but  only  to  supplement  it,  and  that  they  did  not  set  themselves 
up  as  conscience-keepers  for  others,  but  left  each  one  free  to 
decide  for  himself  before  God  whether  he  would  continue  under 
the  old  subscription  plan  or  adopt  the  tithing  system,  all  opposi- 
tion vanished. 

You  know  something  of  the  result.  The  contributions  of  Wes- 
ley Chapel  to  missions  alone  in  1895  were  $576;  in  1901  the 
amount  rose  to  $1,060.  And  the  total  income  for  one  year  from 
this  people,  none  of  whom  were  rich,  and  perhaps  six  of  whom 
were  able  to  own  their  own  homes,  while  the  rank  and  file  were 
wage  earners,  casual  workers,  or  dependent  poor,  amounted  to 
more  than  $9,000.     The  tithe  book  shows  that  last  year,  out  of 


WHAT   A    LOCAL    CHURCH    HAS    DONE 


253 


769  members  and  probationers,  only  162  were  tithing;  and  of 
these  12  were  children,  105  women,  and  45  men.  It  is  interesting 
to  note  here  that  the  average  income  of  every  man,  woman,  and 
child  in  the  United  States  is  estimated  at  $300 ;  the  average  tithe 
therefore  would  be  $30.  The  treasurer's  book  at  Wesley  Chapel 
shows  that  the  average  amount  paid  by  each  tither  there  in  1901 
was  $31.29.  If  all  the  769  members  had  been  tithing  at  the  same 
rate  the  total  income  would  have  been  $24,062;  or  enough  to 
pay  their  present  current  expenses,  and  support  the  entire  asso- 
ciated charities  of  Cincinnati,  and  to  keep  an  army  of  180  Bible 
readers  in  the  field  in  India,  China,  and  Japan.  What  a  factor 
in  the  civic  and  religious  life  of  the  city  would  such  a  church 
become !    And  what  a  missionary  factor  at  home  and  abroad ! 

Now,  the  efifect  of  this  system  of  tithing,  supplementing  the 
old  subscription  plan,  was  not  to  do  away  with  the  literature  and 
sermons  from  missionary  secretaries  and  bishops,  or  the  mission- 
ary organizations,  home  and  foreign,  in  Sunday  school  and 
church,  among  children,  young  people,  and  old  people.  It  only 
simplified  and  strengthened  their  work.  When  Bishop  Thoburn 
came  to  Wesley  Chapel  in  1896  to  preach  a  missionary  sermon 
it  seemed  to  be  a  new  sensation  to  him  not  to  have  a  collection  to 
take.  The  fact  is,  this  system  transforms  all  these  men  and  means 
into  missionary  educational  institutions  instead  of  peripatetic 
collecting  agencies.  The  apostle  Paul  declared  that  he  was  not 
sent  to  baptize,  but  to  preach  the  Gospel,  and  he  thanked  God 
for  it.  How  thankful  all  of  us  would  be  not  to  be  sent  to  collect 
moneys,  but  to  give  ourselves  wholly  to  our  business  as  apostles, 
prophets,  evangelists,  pastors,  and  teachers ! 

But  a  word  of  caution  here.  No  system,  even  though  divinelv 
inspired,  will  work  itself!  The  law  of  the  tithe  is  no  more  self- 
operative  than  is  the  law  of  the  Sabbath.  As  a  means  of  educa- 
tion at  Wesley  Chapel,  we  resorted  to  Quarterly  Conferences  on 
the  subject  of  tithing.  And  every  Tuesday  evening  the  pastor 
had  a  class  to  which  was  assigned  temporarily  all  new  members, 
and  there  he  instructed  them  on  at  least  three  points  which  I 
wish  here  to  emphasize  explicitly : 

I.  "We  seek  not  yours,  but  you."  The  Church  can  get  along 
without  any  man's  money.  The  man  himself  can  get  along  with- 
out it.  Indeed,  if  he  is  to  get  along  at  all  in  his  religious  life  it 
must  be  by  surrendering  at  least  a  portion  of  his  money.     For 


strength  and 
Simplicity  in 
Church  Work 


A  Campaign 
of  Education 


Giving 
Essential  to 
Christian 
Life 


254 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


God's 

Absolute 

Ownership 


A  World-wide 
Kingdom 


no  man  can  be  a  Christian  unless  he  gives.  If  a  pastor  is  true 
to  his  people  he  must  say  to  them  frankly  that  they  cannot  by 
any  possibility  be  Christians  unless  liberality  abounds  in  their  lives 
along  with  all  the  other  graces  of  Christian  character. 

2.  If  we  acknowledge  the  obligation  to  tithe  our  incomes  it 
must  be  on  the  basis  of  what  in  law  is  known  as  "the  right  of 
eminent  domain ;"  in  accordance  with  which  no  man  can  claim 
aught  of  the  things  which  he  possesses  as  his  own  (Acts  iv,  32) — 
it  is  God's  own ;  and  he  is  at  liberty  to  do  with  it  not  as  he  pleases, 
but  only  as  God  pleases.  And  under  certain  circumstances  God 
may  please  that  he  shall  give  up  all  his  possessions.  The  apostles 
"forsook  all"  and  followed  Jesus.  Paul  "suffered  the  loss  of  all 
things."  The  disciples  at  Pentecost  "brought  all  their  possessions 
and  laid  them  at  the  apostles'  feet  and  had  all  things  in  common." 
That  is  to  say,  they  did  what  hundreds  and  thousands  of  men  did 
during  the  Spanish-American  war — forsook  fathers  and  mothers 
and  brothers  and  sisters  and  houses  and  lands,  yea,  and  their 
own  lives ;  all  without  any  assurance  of  more  than  thirteen  dol- 
lars a  month  and  board  and  clothes  in  this  world,  and  with  no 
assurance  whatever  in  the  world  to  come.  But  the  giving  up  of 
all  one's  possessions  obtains  only  in  exceptional  emergencies. 
Under  ordinary  circumstances  men  discharge  their  whole  duty 
as  citizens  not  by  surrendering  life  and  fortune,  but  by  paying 
only  a  fraction  of  their  income  as  a  tax  for  the  support  of  the 
government.  In  like  manner,  God  does  not  ordinarily  exact 
from  us  all  that  we  possess,  but  only  a  tithe  of  our  income,  as  a 
tax  for  the  support  of  his  kingdom  in  the  world. 

3.  The  object  of  a  tithe  is  not  to  support  a  church,  but  to 
propagate  a  world-wide  kingdom.  The  church  which  tithes' 
merely  for  self-support  violates  the  spirit  of  the  law  and  will  be 
killed  by  the  letter.  Even  if  the  people  were  to  "bring  the  whole 
tithe  into  the  storehouse"  there  would  not  be  room  enough  to 
receive  it.  The  church  would  be  embarrassed  by  its  very  wealth, 
as  was  actually  the  case  once  in  the  time  of  Ezra,  when  it  is 
recorded  that  there  was  ten  times  as  much  money  as  they  knew 
what  to  do  with.  A  tithing  church  cannot  be  self-centered  and 
greedy,  as  the  Jewish  Church  came  to  be;  it  must  in  the  very 
nature  of  things  be  self-sacrificing,  aggressive,  catholic,  and 
missionary.  Only  thus  can  it  find  an  outlet  for  its  superabundant 
income. 


PRAYER   AND    MISSIONS  255 

i 

Be  it  understood,  however,  that  the  church  which  abounds  in  Tithes  and 
tithes  and  offerings  is  not  necessarily  a  revival  church.  The  ^*'^^*^ 
churchmen  of  Judaism  in  their  most  degenerate  days  were  noted 
for  a  liberality  which  would  put  the  average  Protestant  to  shame. 
They  scrupulously  tithed  their  entire  income,  even  to  the  "mint 
and  cumin  and  anise,"  but  neglected  "the  weightier  matters  of 
the  law."  It  is  a  singular  fact,  however,  that,  despite  the  religious 
degeneracies  of  the  Jews  and  the  age-long  persecutions  which 
they  have  suffered,  no  other  people  have  enjoyed  such  extraor- 
dinary prosperity.  And  I  am  inclined  to  believe  with  President 
Bashford  "that  the  financial  success  of  the  Jews  is  a  constant 
miracle — a  proof  that  obedience  along  even  one  line  of  righteous- 
ness brings  its  consequent  prosperity."  But  if  along  with  the 
obligation  of  tithing  "the  weightier  matters  of  the  law,"  such  as 
"judgment,  mercy,  and  faith,"  were  fulfilled  it  would  lay  the 
foundation  for  the  greatest  revival  of  religion  the  world  has  ever 
seen.  It  would  finance  the  Church  and  the  kingdom  and  send 
missionaries  into  every  part  of  the  world,  so  that  for  the  first 
time  in  world  history  the  Gospel  would  be  preached  to  every 
creature.  And  we  might  expect  to  see  a  fulfillment  of  the  motto 
of  the  Student  Volunteer  movement :  "The  Evangelization  of  the 
World  in  This  Generation." 


THE   PLACE   OF   PRAYER   IN   MISSIONARY 

WORK 

Bishop   H.   W.   Warren 

We  have  given  the  morning  of  this  glorious  Convention  to  the  Machinery 
consideration  of  machinery,  agencies,  wheels,  first  and  fifth,  all  ^^d  Power 
sorts  of  machinery.  Now  we  come  to  consider  the  power. 
Ponderous,  mighty,  is  the  great  mass  of  iron  we  call  an  engine, 
almost  immovable  by  external  agencies.  But  give  it  inner  power 
and  it  takes  a  whole  street  over  the  ranges  of  mountains,  and  all 
humanity  up  the  grades  of  civilization  and  progress. 

When  you  look  at  the  heathen  world,  terrorized  by  superstition,  Powar  in  the 
debauched  by  lust,  debased  by  poverty,  and  horribly  deteriorated   |fgJJ^*^ 
by  the  worship  of  abominable  gods,  and  then  think  of  the  perfect 
stature  of  manhood  in  Christ  Jesus,  and  that  this  stuff  is  to  be 
made  into  the  royal  perfectness  of  the  children  of  God,  every 


256 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


The  Source 
of  Power 


Things 
Impossible 
to  Men 


man  asks,  Who  is  sufficient  for  these  things?  And  the  answer 
inevitably  is,  No  man.  But  you  blazon  on  the  side  of  this  hall 
the  true  answer,  "Not  by  might,  not  by  an  army,  but  by  my 
spirit,  saith  Jehovah  of  hosts."  The  point  I  wish  to  make  is  that 
there  is  plenty  of  power,  plenty  provided  in  God's  universe  for 
the  changing  of  sinners  into  saints,  for  the  changing  of  ignorant 
men  into  wise  men,  for  the  changing  of  men  dead  in  trespasses 
and  sins  into  saints  alive  unto  God  through  Jesus  Christ  our 
Lord. 

Of  course  there  must  be  a  realm  of  power  about  this  world  or 
it  would  not  exist.  There  must  be  a  source  of  power  somewhere, 
or  there  would  be  none  of  these  inferior  powers.  The  powers 
that  we  handle,  that  we  are  proud  to  master,  which  we  utilize  for 
our  advantage — not  one  of  them  is  sufficient  for  its  own  origina- 
tion nor  for  its  own  continuance.  Out  of  some  other  realm  must 
have  come  the  might  of  gravitation,  chemical  affinity,  cohesion, 
steam,  dynamite,  lightning,  not  one  of  them  sufficient  for  its  own 
origination  nor  for  its  own  continuance.  Think  of  the  crazy 
thought  of  men  to  have  supposed  that  all  earthly  powers  could 
have  been  evolved  from  a  single  potency  of  gravitation  in  the 
fiery  star-dust  of  a  cloud.  Can  we  draw  out  from  this  force,  the 
only  one  claimed  to  be  in  the  universe,  gravitation — can  we  draw 
out  higher  power,  and  still  leave  the  other  untouched  ?  Can  cohe- 
sion, chemical  affinity,  all  possible  mights  be  drawn  out  of  the 
lowest  and  still  be  as  mighty  as  ever?  Never.  We  are  domed 
over,  domed  under,  girt  round,  and  permeated  through  with  a 
spiritual  power  out  of  which  all  others  must  come.  We  wonder 
that  gravitation,  in  its  might  of  swinging  worlds,  does  not  get 
weary  and  exhausted.  Why  not?  Hast  thou  not  heard  that  the 
everlasting  God,  the  Creator  of  the  ends  of  the  earth,  fainteth  not, 
neither  is  weary,  and  power  out  of  him  lasts  through  the 
millenniums  unwearied  and  unweariable  ? 

There  have  been  mights  which  we  are  incapable  of  measuring. 
This  book,  the  Bible,  is  a  record  of  things  impossible  to  men : 
seas  divided  until  a  nation  can  go  through  dry-shod ;  fire  out  of 
heaven  of  such  kind  and  fierceness  that  it  consumes  common 
water  as  common  water  puts  out  ordinary  fire ;  all  kinds  of 
mights  overmastering  the  lower  mights  of  earth.  And  these  are 
as  real  as  gravitation,  as  actual  as  any  power  we  know  of. 

The  fact  that  men  do  not  know  of  this  power  militates  nothing 


PRAYER    AND    MISSIONS  25/ 

i 

against  its  actual  existence.  For  ages  men  walked  the  earth  and  Unknown 
never  knew  there  was  a  gravitation.  Men  drank  the  sparkling  ^®*^™s 
water,  saw  it  distilled  as  the  gentle  dew,  saw  it  glorified  in  the 
rainbow,  and  never  knew  that  every  drop  of  it  was  full  of  the 
irrepressible  power  of  steam.  For  ages  men  walked  the  earth 
interpenetrated  with  the  might  of  electricity,  and  it  is  only  to-day 
that  it  floods  our  homes  with  lights  and  hurls  the  cars  along  the 
streets.  The  fact  that  we  did  not  know  it  for  thousands  of  years 
is  no  argument  against  its  existence  and  power ;  and  the  fact 
that  men  do  not  know  there  are  spiritual  realms  of  might  for  the 
mastery  of  every  other  realm  does  not  militate  against  its  real 
existence.  So  it  is  true  that  there  is  a  realm  of  power  over,  under, 
around,  within,  a  power  for  mind  and  heart,  as  really  as  there  is 
power  of  gravitation  for  matter.  And  men  can  find  their  way  into 
this  realm  and  stand  in  the  midst  of  every  hostile  influence,  and, 
strengthened  of  God,  say  to  the  mighty  king,  in  reply  to  his  com- 
mand to  bow  down,  "We  are  not  careful  to  answer  thee,  O  king, 
in  this  matter,  but  be  it  known  unto  thee  that  we  will  not  bow 
down."  And  armies  of  men,  commands  of  king,  the  touch  of 
fire  to  the  flesh,  do  not  alter  that  will  which  is  strengthened  out  of 
the  realm  of  power  where  the  Will  is  infinite  and  almighty. 

Paul  gives  us  a  remarkable  definition  of  the  Gospel  of  Jesus  The  GoBpel 
Christ — "It  is  power" — a  definition  that  grows  more  clear,  more  *  °^^^ 
forceful,  by  every  realm  of  power  into  which  we  break  and  every 
realm  of  mastery  into  which  we  come.  The  Gospel  of  Jesus 
Christ  is  power.  This  being  true,  how  shall  we  find  our  way 
into  that  realm,  as  legitimate,  as  real,  as  subject  to  law,  as  ready 
to  work  for  man,  as  any  realm  that  exists  wherever  man  has  lived  ? 

I  said  this  book  is  a  record  of  things  impossible  to  men.     But  Men  of 

they  have  been  wrought.     Clouds  of  thunderous  darkness  and 

rumbling  wrath  brooded  over  Sodom,  but  the  lightnings  were 

leashed  over  the  pits  of  slime  while  Abram  prayed.     On  the  top 

of  Carmel  Elijah  knelt  by  the  drenched  sacrifice  and  said:  "O 

Lord,  the  God  of  Abraham,  of  Isaac,  and  of  Israel,  let  it  be  known 

this  day  that  thou  art  God  in  Israel,  and  that  I  am  thy  servant, 

and  that  I  have  done  all  these  things  at  thy  word.    Hear  me,  O 

Lord,  hear  me,  that  this  people  may  know  that  thou.  Lord,  art 

God,  and  that  thou  hast  turned  their  heart  back  again."    Then  fire 

fell  that  could  consume  water  as  easily  as  ordinary  water  puts  out 

common  fire. 
17 


258 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


Jesus  Christ 
and  Prayer 


The  Upper 
Room 


In  the  Heart 
of  Africa 


An  Appeal 


As  has  been  quoted  here  this  morning,  from  Dr.  Livingstone 
in  Africa,  "God  had  but  one  Son,  and  he  was  a  foreign  mission- 
ary." How  did  he  conduct  his  campaign?  For  himself?  All 
night  in  prayer,  dwelling  in  a  realm  of  power  surging  about  him, 
thrilling  his  being.  How  did  he  apply  it?  On  the  top  of  the 
Mount  of  Transfiguration  he  prayed  till,  glorified,  transfigured, 
he  shone  in  his  original  brightness.  When  the  crisis  hour  came, 
all  night  again  in  prayer,  falling  on  his  face  like  Elijah  on  Carmel, 
*'If  it  be  possible,  let  this  cup  pass  from  me:  nevertheless,  not  as 
I  will,  but  as  thou  wilt." 

He  was  about  going  away,  leaving  a  few  timid  scattered  dis- 
ciples to  turn  the  world  upside  down  in  the  matter  of  morals  and 
eternal  hope.  What  should  be  done  for  them?  How  could  they 
be  empowered  ?  "Pray,  pray  the  Father  for  the  fulfillment  of  the 
promise  of  power."  They  obeyed.  They  gathered  together  in 
that  upper  room.  Afterward  Peter  addressed  an  audience  vastly 
larger  than  this  one,  and  gathered  three  thousand  trophies  in  a 
day.  Was  it  Peter's  eloquence,  logic,  argument  ?  No ;  the  power 
was  received  in  that  upper  chamber  before  he  came  to  the  ordinary 
audience.  The  same  thing  all  the  way  along.  Luther  storms 
heaven ;  he  is  like  Moses  crying,  "Lord,  this,  or  blot  my  name  out 
of  thy  book."  Wesley,  John  Knox — they  show  you  in  Edinburgh 
where  his  knees  wore  the  very  floor  away  as  he  said,  "O  God, 
give  me  Scotland,  or  I  die."  Livingstone,  in  the  heart  of  Africa, 
about  to  be  translated,  uses  not  his  last  moments  for  preaching; 
he  is  in  his  tent  on  his  knees,  and  he  storms  heaven  with  his 
prayer  till  he  cannot  abide  longer  in  the  body,  and  he  goes  into 
the  very  Shekinah  with  his  prayers  to  plead  for  Africa.  And  Hart- 
zell  and  Taylor  have  been  there  largely  in  answer,  not  to  his  might, 
nor  to  an  army,  but  by  the  spirit  of  God  employed  by  the  dying 
missionary  in  Africa's  great  heart.  And  you  all  know,  brethren — 
I  speak  with  experimental  men,  practical  men — that  the  great 
agency  in  your  revivals,  your  missionary  work,  is  somebody's 
prayer  that  will  not  let  God  go  until  far  in  the  morning,  until  the 
breaking  of  the  light,  except  God  bless  and  give  souls. 

This,  then,  being  the  real  power  of  the  missionary  movement, 
I  come  to  appeal  to  you.  If  I  were  to  ask  you  for  money  to  set 
India  afire,  to  kindle  a  flame  in  Africa,  to  give  China  all  it  wanted, 
you  could  not  respond.  But  I  can  appeal  to  you  on  a  basis  where 
everyone  can  be  a  glorious  helper  in  the  missionary  cause.    Every 


YOUNG    PEOPLE    AND    MISSIONS  259 

i 

man  can  put  his  hand,  not  into  the  treasuries  of  earth,  but  into 
the  treasuries  of  heaven.  Every  lone  woman  in  her  garret  or  in 
her  basement  can  find  her  way  to  God,  and  the  great  impetus  of 
the  mighty  spirit  of  Jehovah  himself  fills  the  world  not  with 
might,  nor  with  an  army,  but  with  the  spirit  of  the  living  God. 
Practically,  shall  we  now  vow  ourselves  to  new  earnestness  of 
prayer,  pledge  ourselves  to  daily — morning,  evening,  and  night — 
petition  to  the  court  of  Heaven  that  the  spirit  of  the  living  God 
may  abide  on  all  our  missions  far  and  wide? 

Almighty,  Almighty  God,  revive  thy  work.  In  the  midst  of  A  Prayer 
the  years  remember  mercy,  mercy  for  a  lost  and  dying  world.  O 
Christ,  thou  hast  died  for  them  all.  Send  forth  thy  Spirit  through 
every  agency  of  the  Church,  through  all  our  operations  of  mission- 
ary work ;  send  forth  thy  Spirit  until  the  heathen  shall  be  given 
unto  our  Christ  for  an  inheritance,  and  the  uttermost  parts  of  the 
earth  for  a  possession.    O  Jesus,  hasten  that  time.    Amen. 


YOUNG   PEOPLE   AND    MISSIONS 

Mr.   S.  Earl  Taylor 

The  young  people's  field,  as  it  is  outlined  by  the  Board  of 
Managers  of  our  Missionary  Society,  consists  of  the  Sunday 
schools,  the  young  people's  societies,  and  the  colleges  of  our 
Church. 

We  have  been  talking  during  these  days  about  open  doors.    If  The  Open 
there  were  time  one  might  well  speak  of  one  of  the  widest  open   s°n^av 
doors  on  the  face  of  the  earth — the  open  door  of  the  Sunday  School 
school.    If  there  is  an  open  door  anywhere  it  is  the  open  door  of 
the  heart  of  a  little  child ;    and  the  three  million  young  people 
and  children  enrolled  in  the  Sunday  schools  of   our  Church  are 
one  of  the  most  promising  fields  of  missionary  endeavor.     But  I 
have  no  time  for  the  discussion  of  that  phase  of  the  subject  to- 
night.    I  shall  confine  myself  primarily  to  the  young  people  as 
such,  the  young  people  of  the  churches  and  the  young  people  of 
the  colleges. 

I  was  greatly  grieved  when  I  first  took  up  the  young  people's   Prejudice  and 
work  under  the  direction  of  our  board  to  receive  a  letter  from  a   Indifference 
man  in  an  Eastern  State.     I  had  written  to  this  man  asking  him 
if  he  would  cooperate  with  us  in  promoting  missionary  life  and 


260  THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 

work  among  the  young  people.  His  answer  was,  "I  must  refuse 
iro  serve  on  your  committee,  because  I  have  serious  doubts  about 
the  advisabihty  of  side-tracking  the  Epworth  League  for  mis- 
sions." As  I  have  been  traveUng  around  the  country  I  have  been 
convinced  that  there  are  a  few,  not  many,  but  there  are  a  few  who 
are  prejudiced  against  the  missionary  propaganda  among  the 
young.  There  are  many  more,  and  they  are  in  the  ranks  of  the 
pastorate,  and  some  of  them  are  among  our  presiding  elders,  who 
are  almost  totally  indifferent  to  the  subject.  To-night  I  shall  try, 
as  briefly  as  I  may,  to  bring  forth  some  reasons  why  every  mem- 
ber of  our  Church  should  be  vitally  interested  in  arousing,  in 
enlisting,  and  in  equipping  the  young  people  of  our  Church  for 
the  great  missionary  work  which  Christ  has  placed  before  us. 

A  Vast  In  the  first  place  it  is  a  vast  army — I  say  a  z'ast  army.     In 

^^^  America  we  are  so  accustomed  to  think  in  millions,  without  un- 

derstanding at  all  what  a  million  means,  that  the  figures  of  them- 
selves mean  very  little.  But  do  you  know  that  the  membership 
of  the  United  Society  of  Christian  Endeavor  alone  equals  in 
number  the  great  standing  army  of  the  German  empire,  the  army 
of  England,  the  army  of  France,  the  army  of  Russia,  the  armies 
of  Scandinavia,  the  army  of  the  United  States,  the  armies  of  a 
dozen  other  smaller  states  and  countries?  In  other  words,  the 
membership  of  the  United  Society  of  Christian  Endeavor  equals 
in  number  the  standing  armies  of  the  civilized  world.  It  is  a 
vast  army. 

The  Meaning  When  a  boy  I  used  to  go  into  father's  library  and  read  again 
and  again  the  story  of  the  civil  war,  and  I  think  I  got  some  con- 
ception, as  I  read  those  pages,  of  the  number  of  men  who  laid 
down  their  lives  and  now  sleep  under  the  sod  on  the  many  battle- 
fields of  the  Southland ;  some  conception  of  the  number  of  men 
who  died  in  prison  or  of  disease ;  some  idea  of  the  size  of  the 
armies  whose  tread  shook  the  country  as  they  came  out  at  the 
call  of  Father  Abraham.  Our  Epworth  League,  the  Epworth 
League  of  the  three  larger  branches  of  Methodism — the  Cana- 
dian Methodist  Church,  our  own  Church,  and  the  Church  South — 
if  the  figures  commonly  given  out  be  accepted  at  their  face  value — 
approximately  equals  in  number  the  men  who  enlisted  in  the 
Federal  armies  from  the  time  of  the  firing  on  Fort  Sumter  to  Lee's 
surrender  at  Appomattox.    It  is  a  mighty  army. 

Another  illustration :     Take  the  membership  of  the  Christian 


of  statistics 


YOUNG    PEOPLE    AND    MISSIONS 


261 


Endeavor  Society,  the  membership  of  the  Epworth  League,  of 
the  Baptist  Young  People's  Union,  of  the  Young  People's  Union 
of  the  United  Brethren  in  Christ,  of  the  Luther  Leagues  of 
America  and  the  other  smaller  organizations  of  a  similar  char- 
acter, not  counting  at  all  the  great  Student  Movement,  and  you 
have  an  army  equal  in  size  not  only  to  the  standing  armies  of  the 
civilized  world,  but  you  may  add  to  these  armies  the  number  of 
men  who  fought  from  1861  to  1865  ;  you  may  add  the  patriots 
who  fought  during  the  days  of  the  Revolution,  those  who  fought 
in  the  War  of  1812,  the  soldier  boys  who  fought  in  the  war  with 
Mexico,  and  the  well-remembered  heroes  of  our  late  Spanish 
war — ^\'ou  may  add  all  those  together  and  they  do  not  equal  in 
number  the  membership  of  these  young  people's  societies.  It  is 
a  vast  army. 

And  not  only  so ;  it  is  a  well-organized  army.  In  our  Epworth 
League,  for  illustration,  we  have  our  central  organization,  our 
General  Conference  District  organizations,  our  State,  our  Con- 
ference, our  district,  our  local  organizations.  The  local  organi- 
zations again  are  divided  into  departments,  and  these  departments 
are  under  the  supervision  of  chairmen  or  vice  presidents,  and  it 
is  possible  for  the  leaders  of  the  movement  to  send  an  order  down 
the  line,  and  "it  almost  reaches  the  last  man  before  sunset."  It 
is  possible  by  the  scratch  of  a  pen  in  the  central  ofifice  of  the  Ep- 
worth League  to  direct  the  thought  of  a  million  and  a  half  young 
people  as  they  come  together  week  by  week  in  their  devotional 
meetings.  It  is  possible  for  three  or  four  men,  in  a  committee 
meeting  in  a  hotel  somewhere,  by  a  single  vote  to  assemble  twenty 
thousand  leaders  in  Toronto  or  out  on  the  Pacific  coast  or  in 
Detroit  or  anywhere  they  please.  The  young  people  are  well 
organized  and  the  force  is  easily  movable.  Because  of  their  close 
organization  the  young  people  are  easily  influenced  by  the  leaders. 
It  is  a  most  solemn  thing  for  any  man  to  be  called  to  the  spiritual 
leadership  of  this  great  army,  for  it  is  largely  what  the  leaders 
make  it. 

Not  only  is  the  young  people's  army  organized,  but  by  its 
peculiar  plan  of  organization  it  is  remarkably  adapted  to  a  world- 
wide enterprise.  For  instance,  the  Christian  Endeavor  Society, 
the  Epworth  Leagues,  the  Young  People's  Unions,  and  the  other 
young  people's  societies  constitute  in  themselves  one  great  wing 
of  an  army.    They  are  the  base  of  supplies — the  reserve  forces. 


Many  Young 

People's 

Societies 


A  Well- 
organized 
Army 


Well  Adapted 
to  a 

World-wide 
Enterprise 


262  THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 

The  Student  Volunteer  Movement  and  the  other  collegiate  move- 
ments make  up  the  other  wing  of  the  army.  The  students  furnish 
the  leaders,  the  captains  of  the  host,  and  moreover  they  furnish 
the  men  who  stand  on  the  firing  line,  who  are  ready  to  go  with  the 
firing  line  to  any  part  of  the  earth.  Each  of  these  divisions  inde- 
pendently is  extending  itself  throughout  the  earth.  In  the  young 
people's  movement,  for  instance,  Father  Clark,  of  the  Christian 
Endeavor  Society,  is  just  now  completing  his  third  world-tour. 
The  Christian  Endeavor  Society  has  a  general  secretary  in  Eu- 
rope, another  in  India,  and  is  about  to  place  another  in  China.  It 
is  seeking  in  these  countries  to  reproduce  the  same  type  of  organi- 
zation and  work  that  is  being  produced  in  the  United  States.  The 
Epworth  League  is  also  propagating  itself  in  foreign  lands,  I 
wish  we  had  here  Dr.  Goucher's  banners  that  w^e  have  seen  over 
in  the  exhibit — twenty-seven  banners  gathered  at  the  All-India 
Epworth  League  Convention,  written  in  as  many  tongues  and 
dialects.  I  suppose  no  man  on  earth  can  read  them  all.  The 
Epworth  Leagues  of  India  are  enrolled  under  the  same  banner 
that  our  Methodist  young  people  are  marching  under  in  this 
country.  Not  only  are  the  young  people's  societies  being  organ- 
ized in  all  lands,  but  the  students  of  the  world  also  are  engaged 
in  a  world-wide  movement.  In  forty  countries  they  are  enrolled 
under  the  banners  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  the  various  national  move- 
ments are  welded  together  in  the  World's  Student  Christian 
Federation. 
Providential  These  great  forces  are  getting  ready  for  something,  and  it 
would  seem  that  they  are  being  prepared  for  a  great  movement, 
a  world-wide  movement.  Bishop  Fowler  said  the  other  night 
that  it  is  hard  to  interpret  providential  signs.  So  it  is.  But  he 
also  stated  in  substance  that  when  Providence  points  its  finger  in 
a  certain  direction  it  is  reasonable  to  suppose  that  Providence  is 
leading  in  that  direction.  There  are  some  providential  marks 
about  this  young  people's  movement.  It  is  not  of  men,  it  is  of 
God.  It  came  into  being  in  a  most  providential  way.  Father 
Clark  up  in  Portland  one  day  organized  a  little  society  within  four 
walls.  Four  years  later  a  man,  a  cripple  out  in  a  Western  State, 
in  Illinois,  organized  a  young  people's  society  in  our  Church. 
Bishop  Vincent  and  Dr.  Hurlbut  and  others  organized  another  in 
an  Eastern  State,  and  up  in  New  England  some  one  organized 
another;   and  so  far  as  we  know  no  one  of  these  leaders  knew 


Indications 


YOUNG    PEOPLE   AND    MISSIONS 


263 


Extension 


anything  about  the  existence  of  the  other  movements.  Have  you 
ever  seen  a  genuine  revival  break  out  in  your  church  ?  Have  you 
seen  here  a  man  and  there  a  woman  and  over  yonder  a  child 
touched  with  the  spirit  of  prayer  for  the  salvation  of  souls,  and 
have  you  seen  these  forces  come  together  in  a  providential  way, 
with  the  result  that  a  revival  sweeps  through  the  community  ?  So 
God  in  a  providential  way  ordered  this  young  people's  movement. 
In  this  very  city  the  various  young  people's  organizations  of  our 
Church  were  brought  together  and  a  compact  organization  was 
formed.  God  called  the  Epworth  League  and  the  other  young 
people's  societies  into  being  for  something,  and  men  are  still  ask- 
ing what  that  something  is. 

There  is  another  providential  indication.  For  nine  years  after  Work  of 
the  League  was  organized  in  this  city  it  spent  its  time  in  extend- 
ing itself  with  marvelous  rapidity — in  extensive  work,  in 
thorough  organization.  H  you  read  the  literature  of  the  Epworth 
League  for  the  first  nine  years  you  will  hardly  find  the  word 
"missions"  anywhere.  There  was  no  missionary  committee,  and 
practically  no  missionary  work  was  being  done  by  the  organiza- 
tion. It  was  growing.  I  have  in  my  home  a  little  boy.  He 
spends  his  time  running  around  the  room  playing  with  this  thing 
and  that.  He  is  content  with  almost  any  new  toy ;  he  is  growing, 
he  is  exercising.  I  shall  be  very  much  disappointed  if  some  day 
the  baby  does  not  forget  his  toys  and  step  out  to  take  his  part  in 
the  world  movements  of  the  day.  The  Epworth  League  grew 
rapidly,  and  when  it  had  attained  to  young  manhood  it  began  to 
turn  its  attention  to  the  great  world  enterprises  in  the  midst  of 
which  it  found  itself.  How  well  do  I  remember,  four  years  ago 
and  a  little  over,  at  the  Cleveland  Student  Volunteer  Convention, 
held  in  this  very  building,  how  the  sainted  Bishop  Ninde  talked 
with  me  about  missionary  work  in  the  League !  The  leaders  were 
talking — Dr.  W.  I.  Haven,  the  first  general  vice  president,  Mr. 
Willis  Cooper,  and  others — of  some  practical  plans  for  enlisting 
the  interest  of  the  League  in  missions.  They  asked  me  if  I  would 
have  some  part  in  the  work.  I  didn't  want  to  waste  my  time  in 
organizing  unnecessary  machinery,  so  I  went  to  Bishop  Ninde, 
who  was  then  president  of  the  Epworth  League,  and  said, 
"Bishop  Ninde,  do  you  really  feel  that  an  efifort  should  be  made 
to  make  the  Epworth  League  missionary  in  spirit?"  It  was  over 
in  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  building,  and  I  remem- 


Bishop 

Ninde's 

Convictioas 


264 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


Underlying 
Reasons 


A  Part  of  the 
Church 


The  Church 
of  the  Future 


ber  he  dropped  his  head  deep  in  thought,  and  then  he  said :  "Yes. 
Since  I  became  president  of  the  Epworth  League  I  have  been 
carefully  studying  the  organization,  and  I  am  convinced  that  it  is 
in  danger  of  becoming  a  local  self-improvement  society ;  and 
iniless  it  does  something  to  take  it  out  of  itself  it  will  die,  by  the 
law  of  the  Gospel  which  says,  'Except  a  corn  of  wheat  fall  into 
the  ground  and  die,  it  abideth  by  itself  alone.'  "  Thus  it  will  be 
seen  that  after  the  League  was  thoroughly  organized  the  leaders 
turned  their  faces  to  the  world-wide  field.  The  United  Society 
of  Christian  Endeavor  furnishes  another  striking  example  of  the 
same  providential  movement.  Father  Clark  in  this  building  four 
years  ago  said  that  he  had  seen  the  Christian  Endeavor  Society 
write  as  a  motto,  first  "Our  City  for  Christ,"  then  "Our  State  for 
Christ,"  and  he  was  looking  to  the  time  when  the  great  organiza- 
tion would  write  on  every  young  people's  society  wall  the  motto, 
"Our  World  for  Christ." 

But,  after  all,  some  may  say  these  are  merely  surface  signs  and 
that  their  interpretation  depends  upon  the  attitude  of  the  inter- 
preter. Are  there  not  some  underlying  reasons  why  young  people 
should  be  interested  in  missions?  I  think  there  are.  I  shall  men- 
tion a  few : 

The  young  people  are  a  part  of  the  Church.  They  are  not  a 
church  within  a  church.  They  are  a  part  of  the  Methodism  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  And  if  they  are  a  part  of  the 
Church,  and  the  cause  of  missions  is  the  chief  business  of  the 
Church,  the  young  people  must  not  only  know  that  fact,  but  they 
must  be  bearing  a  part  of  the  burden. 

Moreover,  the  young  people  are  the  Church  of  the  future.  This 
fact  is  so  often  commented  upon  that  it  is  trite.  But  what  docs 
it  mean?  Simply  this,  stripped  of  all  superfluous  verbiage  and 
reduced  to  its  lowest  terms:  If  we  are  on  the  eve  of  a  great 
awakening,  as  many  think  we  are,  it  means  that  it  is  not  a  moment 
too  soon  to  begin  to  train  the  future  leaders  of  our  Church.  If 
the  world  is  to  be  evangelized  in  our  generation,  or  in  many 
generations — if  there  is  before  us  the  great  movement  that  Bishop 
Thoburn  predicts — we  must  begin  now  to  train  the  leaders  of  that 
Church  which  soon  must  bear  the  burden  and  the  heat  of  the 
day. 

And  again,  the  young  people  are  at  an  impressionable  age. 
That  is  commonplace  also ;  but  do  you  know  that  of  my  short  life, 


YOUNG   PEOPLE  AND   MISSIONS 


265 


the  five  years  which  I  have  spent  in  working  among  the  young 
people  have  convinced  me  that  the  young  people  are  the  fertile 
soil  for  seed  sowing;  that  you  cannot  expect  the  old  people  to 
give  a  large  portion  of  their  time  to  study.  They  have  lost  the 
habit  of  study.  Some  of  them,  if  they  have  not  formed  the 
prayer  habit' in  their  youth,  will  not  form  it  in  later  years,  nor 
will  they  form  scriptural  habits  of  giving.  Youth  is  the  impres- 
sionable period,  the  time  of  life  when,  if  ever,  one  responds  to  a 
great  ideal. 

Once  more,  the  young  people  have  before  them  the  longest 
time  of  service.  If  I  had  to  choose  between  one  of  the  gray- 
haired  brethren  here  and  one  of  the  young  men  full  of  life,  as  a 
missionary  force,  I  would  choose  the  young  man,  other  things 
being  equal,  because  he  has  a  longer  time  of  service. 

And  again,  "Despise  not  the  days  of  youth."  I  went  the  other 
day  to  meet  the  cashier  of  the  bank  in  New  York  where  I  do 
business,  and  I  was  surprised  to  find  that  he  was  a  very  young 
man.  I  think  he  was  younger  than  I  am.  I  also  met  the  first 
vice  president  of  the  bank,  who  was  about  my  age.  There  is  not 
a  man  in  that  bank,  I  think,  who  is  older  than  I  am.  When  I 
visit  commercial  concerns,  as  I  do  every  time  I  get  an  opportunity, 
to  study  methods  of  successful  organization  and  work,  I  find  that 
those  great  commercial  concerns  are  manned  by  young  men,  and 
business  men  are  becoming  convinced  that  young  people  are  able 
to  bear  burdens  when  they  are  put  upon  them.  For  that  reason 
alone  the  young  people  are  worth  cultivating. 

Then  from  the  young  people  must  come  the  army  of  volunteers. 
Thirty  years  of  age  is  the  dead  line,  practically,  with  outgoing 
missionaries,  for  the  boards  do  not,  as  a  rule,  send  out  men  after 
they  are  thirty.  We  must  be  training  an  army  of  young  men  and 
young  women  for  missionary  service;  and  if  I  had  time  I  would 
express  what  is  on  my  heart  about  the  fact  that  the  Church  ought 
to  give  more  attention  than  it  does  to  the  training  and  equipment 
of  volunteers.  Some  day  there  will  be  a  great  dearth  when  we 
want  new  missionaries,  unless  we  encourage  the  volunteers  more 
than  we  do.  It  doesn't  do  for  a  man  to  go  through  college  and 
theological  seminary,  and  offer  himself  to  our  board  and  be  turned 
down  without  adequate  reason ;  aside  from  the  hardship  to  that 
man  himself,  it  discourages  other  young  men  from  volunteering 
and  equipping  themselves. 


The 

Impression- 
able Age 


The  Longest 
Time  of 
Service 


Ability  to 

Carry 

Burdens 


Prospective 
Volunteers 


266 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


The  Beflez 

Spiritual 

Influence 


How  Enlist 
and  Train 
the  Young 
People 


And  finally — and  this  is  reason  enough,  if  there  were  not  out- 
side of  it  and  above  it  the  thing  I  have  most  in  my  mind,  the  ring- 
ing command  of  our  Lord  and  the  unspeakable  need  of  mission 
fields — the  spiritual  life  of  the  young  people  themselves  demands 
that  they  become  missionary  in  spirit.  The  young  people  need 
above  all  things  that  reflex  spiritual  influence  that  comes  from 
missionary  life  and  purpose.  Surely  the  spiritual  need  of  the 
young  people  is  in  itself  a  sufficient  reason  for  the  vigorous  prose- 
cution of  the  missionary  movement  among  the  young. 

But  I  must  hasten.  How  shall  we  make  this  a  great  missionary 
army?  There  is  no  royal  road.  We  need  conventions  like  this; 
we  need  conferences  and  training  schools  of  one  sort  or  another ; 
we  need  more  attention  to  missions  in  the  press,  doubtless.  But 
our  Church  might  just  as  well  settle  itself  down  to  this  basis,  that 
it  is  going  to  be  a  prolonged  campaign  of  education.  One  of  the 
leaders  of  our  Church  said  the  other  day  that  he  didn't  believe  in 
this  educational  campaign  in  the  Epworth  League.  ''What  we 
need,"  said  he,  "is  money,  and  we  need  it  now."  In  my  judgment 
our  Church  has  too  long  proceeded  upon  that  basis.  You  can't 
arouse  the  young  people  in  a  permanent  way  until  they  are  in- 
formed. What  the  young  people  want  and  what  the  Church  needs 
is  missionary  education,  and  I  believe  that  our  young  people  to- 
day are  in  danger  of  taking  up  missions  as  a  fad — as  a  fashionable 
thing;  and  if  they  do  the  seed  will  fall  on  shallow  ground  and 
soon  be  scorched  by  the  rays  of  the  sun.  It  is  very  inspiring  to 
cry,  "The  evangelization  of  the  world  in  this  generation."  It  is 
prosaic  to  go  back  home  and  talk  about  missions  and  organize 
study  classes  and  begin  the  long,  tedious  process  which  is  in- 
volved in  an  educational  campaign,  but  as  unto  the  bow  the  string 
is,  so  unto  world-wide  evangelization  is  thoroughgoing  mission- 
ary education. 

But  I  am  sure  that  I  shall  not  have  sounded  the  note  that  should 
be  sounded  in  dealing  with  this  subject  if  I  do  not  say  that  these 
facts  which  we  have  been  considering  constitute  both  an  appeal 
and  a  challenge  to  the  Church.  As  young  people  we  appeal  to 
you,  the  adult  members  of  the  Church,  to  deal  faithfully  with  us. 
We  are  young,  we  are  inexperienced,  we  lack  knowledge.  We 
are  lured  by  those  things  which  most  appeal  to  rich  young  blood. 
But,  after  all,  in  the  quiet  moments,  if  we  know  ourselves,  we 
wish  not  to  spend  these  golden  days  in  idleness,  nor  do  we  desire 


YOUNG   PEOPLE   AND   MISSIONS  267 

i 

to  miss  the  great  opportunity  that  comes,  and  comes  but  once. 
We  want  to  do  tlie  best  things  and  the  greatest  things.  And  upon 
you  as  pastors,  as  leaders,  as  parents,  and  friends,  rests  the  great 
responsibiHty  for  our  instruction.  I  pity  the  pastor  who,  to  para- 
phrase the  words  of  Cuthbert  Hall,  condemns  his  young  people  to 
a  life  of  provincialism  in  an  age  of  catholicity.  We  appeal  to  you 
to  deal  with  us  faithfully,  as  a  father  deals  with  his  child.  And 
with  that  we  issue  a  challenge.  Some  of  us  know  something  of 
the  power  of  the  missionary  idea.  We  know  it  is  not  a  subject  to 
trifle  with.  We  know  how  it  can  uproot  the  hoary  religions  of  a 
continent.  We  have  seen  it  tear  homes  asunder  and  send  the 
dearest  of  the  family  to  the  uttermost  part  of  the  earth.  I  remem- 
ber how  four  years  ago,  on  one  of  those  seats  on  that  side  of  this 
platform  [indicating],  I  fought  the  greatest  battle  of  my  life. 
For  long  years  I  had  resisted  the  Spirit  of  Christ  and  refused  to 
consider  the  missionary  call ;  and  when  I  said,  "O  Lord,  I  will 
give  it  up  and  go  anywhere  you  want  me  to  go,"  this  whole 
armory  was  filled  with  glory.  We  know  something  of  the  power 
of  the  missionary  idea.  And  I  want  to  say,  and  I  believe  I  truly 
represent  the  young  people  of  the  churches  and  colleges,  that  if 
you  as  a  Church  will  rise  to  a  great  thing,  and  will  place  before 
us  what  Jesus  Christ  placed  before  us,  if  you  will  call  upon  us  to 
go  out  and  to  attempt  great  things  for  God,  we  will  follow  you 
anywhere. 

A  prophet  who,  I  suppose,  has  founded  more  Christian  and  A  Prophecy 
missionary  movements  than  any  other  man  in  this  country  said 
not  long  ago  in  my  hearing  that  he  had  seen  three  great  stages  in 
this  young  people's  movement :  first,  the  organization  of  the  col- 
leges and  young  people's  societies  in  this  country ;  second,  the 
transplanting  of  these  organizations  to  the  other  side  of  the  water ; 
and,  third,  the  stage  of  the  work  we  are  just  now  entering  upon — 
the  making  of  these  young  people  intensely  and  truly  missionary 
in  spirit.  And  then  he  said,  with  prophetic  fire,  "The  next  stage, 
the  fourth  stage,  will  be  the  last.  It  will  be  the  shout  of  triumph, 
the  hanging  up  of  the  battered  armor,  and  the  proclamation  that 
the  kingdoms  of  this  world  are  become  the  kingdoms  of  our  Lord 
and  his  Christ."  O,  our  Father,  hasten  that  day !  It  will  come,  it 
will  come,  if  we  are  faithful  and  do  what  we  can  to  promote  the 
kingdom,  because  behind  us  in  all  power  thou  art,  and  there  is 
nothing  too  hard  for  God ! 


268 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


Compara- 
tively Few 
Being  Won 
for  Christ 


Our  Bange  of 
Influence  in 
Non-Christian 
Lands 


REASONS  WHY  THE  HOME  CHURCH  MUST 
GO    FORWARD 

Mr.    John    R.    Mott 

The  Church  must  go  forward  in  the  foreign  missionary  enter- 
prise because  of  the  comparatively  small  number  of  people  who 
are  being  won  in  heathen  and  pagan  lands  to  become  disciples  of 
Jesus  Christ.  When  we  compare  the  number  who  are  being 
drawn  into  the  kingdom  of  Christ  at  the  present  time,  with  the 
number  being  reached  two  generations  ago,  or  one  generation 
ago,  or  even  ten  years  ago,  there  is  very  much  indeed  to  encourage 
us.  When  we  think  of  what  is  being  achieved  in  certain  of  the 
great  mission  fields  of  God,  Hke  Japan,  the  Fu-kien  Province  of 
China,  and  the  Northwest  Provinces  of  India,  our  faith  is  greatly 
stimulated.  When  we  observe  what  has  been  accomplished  by 
the  Spirit  of  God  in  these  difficult  foreign  fields,  in  contrast  with 
what  is  being  done  in  more  favored  fields  in  the  United  States, 
we  find  sufficient  cause  to  stimulate  us  with  the  desire  to  see  more 
accomplished  in  our  own  land.  But  when,  on  the  other  hand,  we 
remind  ourselves  of  the  vast  numbers  who  are  not  being  reached 
with  the  message  of  Christ  in  the  non-Christian  nations,  with  the 
number  who  might  easily  be  won  for  him,  and,  therefore,  who 
should  be  won  for  him,  we  recognize  keenly  and  painfully  the 
great  need  of  a  forward  movement  of  evangelization  on  behalf  of 
the  multitudinous  inhabitants  of  the  non-Christian  world. 

The  home  Church  must  go  forward  because  of  the  large  number 
of  people  within  the  range  of  our  influence  in  all  the  non-Christian 
nations  where  we  are  working,  for  bringing  the  message  of  Christ 
to  whom  we  are  in  a  very  special  sense  responsible.  Think  of  the 
tens  of  thousands  in  our  schools  and  colleges  on  the  mission  field. 
Think  of  the  multitudes  who  are  thronging  our  hospitals  and 
dispensaries.  Note  the  vast  number  who  are  being  influenced  by 
the  printed  page  as  the  Spirit  of  God  works  out  through  it. 
Recognize  the  even  greater  number  who  are  frequenting  the 
preaching  places,  or  upon  whose  lives  is  being  brought  to  bear 
the  power  of  Christian  personality  through  individual  efifort.  I 
am  fully  persuaded  that  in  the  non-Christian  countries  there  are 
what  would  amount  in  the  aggregate  to  a  great  multitude  who 
are  inquirers  as  the  result  of  our  missionary  work,  but  who  have 


WHY    TIIK    CHURCH    MUST   GO    FORWARD 


269 


not  yet  been  related  to  Christ  as  their  Saviour,  and  also  of  those 
whom  we  might  term  secret  disciples,  but  who  do  not  yet  have 
the  clearness  of  faith  or  sufficient  courage  to  avow  themselves  as 
disciples  of  Jesus  Christ.  A  forward  movement,  beginning  in  the 
home  Church,  is  necessary  in  order  to  draw  a  great  body  of  these 
who  are  more  than  halfway,  who  are  within  the  range  of  our 
immediate  influence,  to  whom  we  have  special  access,  into  the 
kingdom  of  our  Saviour.  It  is  poor  business  and  poorer  church- 
manship  for  us  to  build  up  great  institutions  and  extensive 
agencies  on  the  mission  fields  and  yet  to  underman  them  to  such 
an  extent  that  we  are  unable  to  reap  the  legitimate  fruits  which 
we  have  a  right  to  expect  if  we  were  working  these  plants  as  we 
might. 

The  Church  must  go  forward  because  of  the  operation  of  the 
forces  of  evil  at  the  present  time.  After  spending  some  fourteen 
years  working  among  the  young  men,  not  only  in  the  universities, 
but  in  the  troubled  heart  of  the  great  American  cities,  I  am  pre- 
pared to  appreciate  the  force  of  the  temptations  of  young  men  of 
America.  And  yet  I  wish  to  go  on  record  as  saying  that  we  do 
not  at  home  know  what  temptation  is  in  contrast  with  the  working 
of  temptation  in  the  non-Christian  nations.  Gambling  is  rife  in 
America,  among  the  poor  and  the  rich,  but  we  cannot  yet  say  of 
America  as  we  could  of  every  republic  south  of  us,  or  of  China, 
that  gambling  is  a  national  contagion.  Intemperance  is  a  mighty 
evil  in  this  country,  but  in  the  judgment  of  some  of  the  most 
acute  observers  and  those  who  have  had  largest  opportunities  to 
learn  the  facts  the  most  frightful  ravages  of  the  drink  demon  are 
those  wrought  in  the  port  cities  of  Asia,  Africa,  and  South 
America.  ^Moreover,  we  know  of  no  evil  in  America  that  is 
comparable,  so  far  as  the  numbers  affected  by  it  are  concerned,  to 
that  of  the  opium  curse  in  China.  Dift'erent  estimates  were  given 
to  me  in  China,  but  taking  the  most  conservative  I  would  call 
your  attention  to  the  awful  fact  that  probably  not  less  than  fifteen 
per  cent  of  the  young  men  of  China  are  addicted  to  the  opium 
habit.  The  year  before  I  made  my  first  visit  to  China  there  was 
expended  in  that  country  on  native  and  imported  opium  $220,- 
000,000  gold — enough  to  feed  that  vast  nation  twelve  days,  worse 
than  wasted,  because  it  is  eating  like  gangrene  into  one  of  the 
best  races  of  Asia. 

What  shall  I  say  of  impurity?     Take  Japan,  for  instance.     I 


The  Forces  of 
Evil  Are  at 
Work 


270 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


Bavages  of 
Impurity 


Rationalism 

and 

Materialism 


Magnitude, 
Enterprise, 
and  Activity 
of  these  Evils 


know  of  no  country  where  this  vice  is  so  attractive,  so  accessible, 
so  economical,  so  safe,  and  therefore  so  deadly  as  in  Japan.  Is 
it  to  be  wondered  at  that  I  found  young  men  everywhere  in  that 
land  going  like  sheep  to  the  slaughter?  I  do  not  trust  myself  to 
speak  of  the  ravages  of  impurity  in  China.  One  missionary  said 
to  me  there  were  thousands  of  words  and  phrases  in  the  Chinese 
language  expressive  of  the  baser  passions  and  vices.  What 
charnel  houses  and  whited  sepulchers  must  be  the  inner  lives  of 
these  people,  to  require  such  infinitely  varied  expressions  of  the 
hidden  depths. 

In  India  with  my  own  eyes  I  have  seen  the  nautch  girls  in  the 
great  temple  at  one  of  the  three  most  sacred  seats  of  Hinduism 
plying  their  awful  traffic.  Moreover,  I  had  my  attention  called, 
on  my  recent  visit  to  India,  to  that  law,  which  still  stands  on  the 
Indian  statute  books,  which  prohibits  indecent  pictures  and  repre- 
sentations, but  in  which  there  is  specified  one  significant  exception 
— "except  in  connection  with  temples  and  other  places  of  religious 
worship."  A  friend  of  mine  who  was  born  in  the  capital  of  a 
native  state  in  India  said  to  me  not  long  since  that  the  ruler  of 
that  native  state  had  offered  prizes  to  the  young  men  of  the  city 
who  excelled  in  certain  forms  of  impurity. 

We  talk  of  rationalism  in  the  German  universities.  I  have  seen 
something  of  its  dire  influence  there.  But  rationalism  and 
materialistic  philosophy  are  more  prevalent  and  deadly  in  their 
influence  in  the  universities  of  India  and  Japan  than  in  the  univer- 
sities of  Germany  and  of  Holland.  I  do  not  dwell  on  the  avarice 
and  the  gross  materialism  which  exert  such  a  dominating  influence 
in  the  Far  East.  Nor  do  I  speak  of  great  evils  like  the  system  of 
caste  and  ancestor  worship,  nor  of  the  dwarfing  and  deadening 
effects  of  incomplete  religions  like  Buddhism,  Mohammedanism, 
and  Hinduism. 

Consider  these  evils.  Note  their  magnitude;  it  should  startle 
us.  Observe  their  enterprise ;  it  should  challenge  our  admiration. 
Look  at  their  activity;  they  take  no  vacations.  Notice  well  also 
their  vigor  and  their  deadly  cruelty.  They  are  after  the  life.  The 
time  has  come  when  the  Church  should  rise  in  her  might  and 
declare  uncompromising  warfare  against  these  evils  in  all  their 
forms.  Why  should  we  not  resolve  here  this  night,  with  greater 
earnestness  than  in  the  past,  to  fight  these  evils  and  sins  until  we 
die  ?    Everything  in  the  world  which  has  caused  suffering,  sorrow, 


WHY   THE   CHURCH    MUST   GO   FORWARD 


271 


pain,  loss,  and  death  is  traceable  to  sin.    Let  us,  therefore,  bestir 

ourselves  and  go  forth  to  help  our  tempted  brothers  in  their  battle, 

their  losing  battle  apart  from  Jesus  Christ. 

The  Church  must  go  forward  also  because  of  the  abounding  Abounding 

resources  which  she  possesses.     We  have  a  membership  now,   Resources  of 

,       .  ...  f  '    ^jjg  Church 

mcludmg  probationers,  of  somethmg  like  two  and  three  quarters 

millions  on  this  continent  alone.  Put  that  in  contrast  with  the 
few  thousands  who  constitute  the  small,  unacknowledged,  and 
despised  sect  which  on  the  day  of  Pentecost  went  forth  to  evan- 
gelize the  Roman  empire.  Or  put  in  contrast  with  it,  if  you 
please,  the  small  Moravian  Church  and  recount  her  missionary 
history,  to  be  greatly  stimulated  by  our  own  shortcomings  as 
well  as  by  their  achievements.  We  have  been  reminded  to-night 
that  there  are  about  three  millions  of  scholars  and  teachers  in 
our  Sunday  schools.  What  an  asset  in  itself,  as  we  think  of  the 
problem  of  the  evangelization  of  the  world !  Likewise  w^e  have 
been  told  about  the  growing  membership  of  the  Epworth  League, 
now  reaching  up  toward  two  millions.  What  possibilities  we  have 
seen  in  the  considerations  which  have  been  laid  before  us  con- 
cerning the  present  and  future  of  this  organization.  We  have 
130  colleges,  universities,  theological  seminaries,  and  other  insti- 
tutions of  higher  learning  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in 
the  United  States ;  and  they  have  at  present  about  40,000 
students.  Suppose  we  do  not  allow  for  any  growth  in  the  number 
of  students  in  these  institutions,  nor  take  into  account  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  students  in  the  State  institutions  of  this  Possible 
country,  there  will  still  go  forth  from  these  130  Methodist  insti-  ^Missionaries 
tutions  of  the  Northern  Church  not  less  than  400,000  students  in 
our  generation.  Suppose  that  only  one  half  of  them  are  to 
graduate  as  Christians — we  know  the  proportion  will  be  larger 
than  that — it  would  take  only  one  per  cent  of  the  number  of  them 
who  are  to  go  cut  as  Christians  to  furnish  more  than  the  quota 
assigned  to  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  the  total  number 
required  to  bring  the  knowledge  of  Jesus  Christ  to  the  attention 
of  all  people  in  our  generation,  according  to  the  estimates  of  con- 
servative missionaries.  Then  we  have  the  Student  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association,  in  which  this  Church  should  be  peculiarly 
interested,  because  the  largest  contingent  in  this  great  inter- 
denominational movement  that  unites  some  forty  divisions  of  the 
Church  of  Jesus  Christ  is  the  Methodist  Episcopal  contingent. 


272  THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 

The  possibilities  of  this  great  student  movement  which  unites  the 
future  leaders  of  Church  and  State,  so  far  as  they  are  to  be  Chris- 
tian leaders,  are  simply  limitless  in  a  day  of  large  combinations 
and  opportunities. 

Wealth  of  What  about  the  wealth  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  ? 

the  Church  f  ^g  ^ggt  estimates  that  I  have  been  able  to  discover  indicate  that 
the  Protestant  Christians  of  the  United  States  in  the  year  1900 
must  have  possessed  twenty-three  billions  of  dollars.  If  our 
Church  had  its  due  proportion,  we  are  abundantly  able  to  support 
our  contingent,  and  also  the  plant  and  agencies  necessary  to 
sustain  such  an  enlarged  force  of  conquest.  Taking  all  Protestant 
Christians,  one  might  say  that  if  they  would  give  one  two-hun- 
dredth of  their  personal  and  real  property  it  would  roll  up  a  mis- 
sionary fund  of  over  $100,000,000,  in  contrast  with  a  little  over 
$4,000,000  given  by  the  Protestant  Churches  of  the  United  States 
last  year.  Or,  to  put  it  otherwise,  if  Protestant  Christians  of  the 
United  States  would  give  one  fiftieth  of  the  increase  in  their 
wealth  year  by  year  it  would  far  more  than  sustain  the  increased 
number  of  missionaries  required,  according  to  the  missionaries' 
estimate,  to  spread  this  network  of  evangelization  over  the  world 
and  support  it  with  commensurate  institutional  plants,  and  home 
agencies  to  sustain  the  work. 

Gifts  that  If  one  pastor  in  Methodism  out  of  every  seven  caught  the  vision 

Ought  to  Be  ^^^  decided  to  make  his  church  a  living  link  church,  that  is,  a 
church  supporting  its  own  representative  on  the  foreign  field,  or 
the  equivalent  thereof,  we  could  send  out  more  than  our  con- 
tingent of  the  volunteers  who  should  go  forth  in  this  generation. 
Or,  if  several  pastors  would  unite  and  each  group  support  one  of 
these  missionaries  we  would  far  surpass  our  quota.  Or,  if  each 
member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  would  give  two  dol- 
lars a  year  to  this  work  we  would  roll  up  a  fund  that  would  enable 
us  to  do  far  more  than  our  share  in  the  work  of  making  Christ 
known  to  all  creatures  in  our  day.  If  the  members  of  our 
churches,  Sunday  schools,  and  Epworth  Leagues,  making  all 
allowance  for  duplicates,  were  each  to  give  one  dollar  a  year  we 
would  be  in  a  position  to  do  the  same  thing.  We  have  the  financial 
ability,  we  have  the  men,  we  have  the  organizations,  we  have  the 
methods,  and  I  am  constrained  to  believe  that  we  have  the  vision 
of  the  possibility  of  doing  our  full  share  toward  evangelizing  the 
world  in  our  day,  which  is  a  great  asset  in  itself.     And  then  let 


WHY    THE    CHURCH    MUST   GO    FORWARD  273 

i 

US,  in  a  conference  like  this,  not  forget  that  we  have  a  mighty 
factor  in  the  spirit  of  Methodism.  It  is  inconceivable  that  a 
Methodist  should  apologize  for  the  work  of  world-wide  missions, 
because  in  so  doing  he  apologizes  for  its  founder,  for  its  history, 
for  its  spirit  which  has  wrought  so  many  miracles  on  this  conti- 
nent, and  for  its  Lord. 

Think  also  of  the  resources  on  the  foreign  field.  In  the  Resources  on 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  alone  we  have  i,8oo  native  preachers,  Fjeia"^"^^ 
and  hundreds  of  teachers  and  other  Christian  workers.  We  have 
a  membership,  including  probationers,  of  over  190,000.  We  have 
sixty-four  colleges  and  high  schools  that  are  training  up  a  native 
army  without  which  it  is  an  idle  dream  to  talk  of  evangelizing  the 
world  in  one  generation  or  in  many  generations. 

Moreover,  let  us  not  omit  the  divine  resources.  This  missionary  The  Divine 
movement  is  not  so  much  an  enterprise  of  any  one  particular  ^^^ources 
Church  as  it  is  God's  enterprise.  Jesus  Christ  is  still  at  the  right 
hand  of  God.  He  is  our  leader,  and  with  him  resides  all  power 
in  heaven  and  on  earth.  The  Holy  Spirit  is  as  able  to  shake 
mightily  whole  communities  as  in  the  days  of  St.  Peter  and  St. 
John.  The  word  of  God  still  has  dynamic  and  regenerating 
power.  Faith  is  still  able  to  remove  mountains.  Macedonian 
visions  are  yet  vouchsafed  unto  men.  Prayer  is  able  to  overcome 
the  world. 

The  Church  simply  must  move  forward,  because  the  time  has  The  Law  of 
come  to  enter  into  the  heritage  which  God  has  prepared  as  the  Reaping 
result  of  the  working  of  his  unchanging  laws.  Among  these  is 
the  law  of  sowing  and  reaping.  There  has  been  an  immense 
amount  of  seed-sowing  in  the  non-Christian  nations.  Any  careful 
traveler  must  have  noted  the  thoroughness,  painstaking  zeal,  and 
self-denial  which  have  gone  into  this  seed-sowing  process.  It  is 
the  law  of  God  that  where  the  seed  is  properly  sown  and  properly 
watered  and  matured  there  shall  come  a  time  to  reap.  Just  return- 
ing from  a  second  journey  through  the  great  mission  fields,  I 
bring  the  impression,  which  is  far  more  vivid  than  it  was  on  the 
occasion  of  my  first  journey  six  years  ago,  that  the  time  has  come 
to  reap.  I  do  not  know  a  field  of  which  it  is  not  literally  true 
that  if  we  to-day  put  in  the  sickle  we  can  gather  sheaves  unto  life 
eternal.  Bishop  Thoburn  has  used  language  of  prophecy  on  this 
platform  that  must  have  impressed  us  profoundly.  It  mightily 
moves  young  men  like  myself  to  hear  one  of  his  age  and  large 
18 


2/4 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


The  Law  of 
Prayer 


The  Law  of 
Self-sacrifice 


The  Martyr 
Church  in 
North  China 


experience  with  the  difficulties  say  that  he  expects,  before  his  eyes 
shall  close  in  death,  if  our  Church  does  her  duty,  to  see  one 
million  gathered  into  the  fold  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  It  ought 
to  stimulate  every  one  of  us  to  have  more  vision,  more  persever- 
ance, and  more  faithfulness  as  we  look  down  through  the  years. 
I  myself  believe  that  his  vision  is  not  an  exaggerated  picture  of 
what  we  may  witness  if  we  are  true  to  this  present  opportunity. 

Another  law  which  has  been  working  is  that  of  prayer.  I  like 
to  think  of  prayer  as  a  law,  just  as  certain  in  its  working  as  any 
of  the  other  great  forces.  Prayer  is  not  a  form ;  it  is  a  force — the 
greatest  force  being  wielded  to-day.  The  prayers  of  Christendom 
have  been  focused  upon  the  non-Christian  fields  with  more  and 
more  definiteness  and  earnestness.  This  is  notably  true  of  the 
last  three  or  four  years.  We  could  give  many  evidences  of  this. 
But  in  vain  does  the  Church  go  to  her  knees  on  behalf  of  the 
martyr  Church  in  North  China,  for  example,  or  on  behalf  of  other 
portions  of  the  non-Christian  world,  unless  at  the  same  time  she 
combines  works  with  her  faith  and  seeks  to  enter  into  the  heritage 
which  God  has  prepared  as  a  result  of  her  own  faithfulness  in 
prayer. 

Then  there  is  the  law  of  self-sacrifice.  I  do  not  believe  that 
all  the  sacrifices  are  made  on  the  mission  field.  Hidden  away  in 
all  our  churches  are  men  and  women  who  are  just  as  truly  deny- 
ing themselves  as  are  workers  on  the  foreign  field.  They  are  the 
salt  of  the  home  churches.  Notwithstanding  this,  the  volume  of 
sacrifice  is  undoubtedly  greater  on  the  foreign  field  than  at  home. 
The  very  act  of  leaving  home  and  breaking  the  ties  that  bind  us 
here  is  in  itself  a  great  reach  in  the  realm  of  self-sacrifice.  The 
missionary  goes  out  to  face  discouragement,  opposition,  misunder- 
standing, loneliness ;  to  subject  his  nervous  organism  to  a  strain 
the  like  of  which  we  know  not  save  in  very  few  positions  on  the 
home  field;  also  to  subject  his  sensibilities  to  influences  that  cut 
into  the  finest  grain  of  life  and  tend  to  abridge  life  itself.  He 
comes  to  know  what  it  is  to  die  daily.  One  of  the  two  greatest 
privileges  I  have  ever  had  in  my  life  came  to  me  about  a  year 
ago  this  month,  that  of  visiting  North  China.  I  had  planned  not 
to  go  there,  on  account  of  the  recent  troubles,  but  a  special  depu- 
tation waited  on  me  in  Japan  and  urged  me  to  go.  While  in 
Peking  I  met  in  the  old  theater  of  the  nephew  of  the  empress 
dowager  the  remnant  of  the  martyr  Church — over  three  hundred 


WHY   THE    CHURCH    MUST   GO    FORWARD  275 

i 

native  preachers,  teachers,  and  Bible  women  and  other  lay  work- 
ers. As  I  heard  their  narratives  as  to  how  they  had  stood  the 
persecution ;  as  I  was  reminded  that  there  was  probably  not  a 
Chinese  in  that  room  who  in  the  recent  massacre  had  not  lost 
friends,  relatives,  or  members  of  his  immediate  family,  I  received 
an  inspiration  that  I  am  sure  will  abide  with  me  to  my  dying  day ; 
and  I  became  ashamed  of  the  degree  of  Christianity  which  I  pos- 
sessed. I  wondered  whether  I  and  those  associated  with  me  at 
home  would  be  able  to  stand  the  strain  of  persecution  as  these 
Chinese  Christians  had  stood  it.  The  sufferings  and  sacrifices  of 
the  Chinese  Christians  have  made  possible  a  marvelous  harvest. 
But  in  vain  is  it  to  quote  Tertullian  that  "the  blood  of  the  martyrs 
is  the  seed  of  the  Church,"  unless  the  Church  at  home  and  abroad 
with  clear  vision  and  large  faith  goes  forward  to  enter  into  the 
heritage  thus  prepared.  We  should  heed  the  closing  phrase  of 
the  eleventh  chapter  of  Hebrews,  "Apart  from  us  they  should 
not  be  made  perfect."  The  martyrs  of  North  China,  the  two 
hundred  missionaries  and  members  of  their  families  and  the 
fifteen  thousand  Chinese  Christians  who  there  laid  down  their 
lives  for  Jesus  Christ,  will  not  be  made  perfect  in  their  influence 
for  the  evangelization  of  that  great  region  unless  we  with  prompt- 
ness and  resolution  press  our  wonderful  advantage. 

The  Church  must  go  forward  because  of  the  dangers  which  are   Dangers  of 

sure  to  follow  if  we  do  not  have  a  great  advance  movement.    Look  Hesitancy 
^  .  and  Delay 

first  at  some  of  the  dangers  which  will  be  experienced  on  the 

mission  field.     One  is  that  some  of  our  missionaries  will  break 

down  if  we  do  not  speedily  send  them  reinforcements.     I  have 

been  in  scores  of  Methodist  missionary  homes  in  the  last  few 

years,  and  I  do  not  recall  one  of  them  where  the  impression  was 

not  made  very  distinctly  on  my  mind  and  heart  that  our  force  of 

workers  was  undermanned  and  that  they  were  carrying  burdens 

too  heavy  to  be  borne.     Then  there  is  the  danger  that  we  will 

discourage   and   depress   both   the   missionaries   and   the   native 

workers  by  letting  them  stand  in  front  of  ripe  fields  and  not 

enabling  them  to  reap,  by  letting  them  stand  before  open  doors 

and  not  making  it  possible  for  them  to  enter.    There  is  the  danger 

also  that  thousands  of  those  who  are  practically  ready  to  close  in 

on  Christ  will  lapse,  that  their  last  state  will  become  worse  than 

the  first,  and  that  they  will  thus  become  stumbling-blocks  in  the 

way  of  a  greater  work  of  God  later.     And  we  must  not  forget 


276 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


The  Sin  of 

ITeglect 


An  Appeal  to 
the  Heroic 
Needed 


Interrelation 
of  Home  and 
Foreign 
Work 


Eesults  of 
Disobedience 


that  by  not  having  a  forward  movement  at  this  particular  time 
we  are  mortgaging  the  future  and  hindering  the  achievements  of 
the  next  generation. 

What  are  the  perils  to  the  Church  at  home?  All  men  need 
Christ.  We  owe  Christ  to  all  men.  To  know  our  duty  and  do  it 
not  is  sin.  Continuance  in  the  sin  of  neglect  and  wrongdoing 
weakens  the  life  and  arrests  the  growth.  Neglect  to  go  forward, 
therefore,  means  spiritual  atrophy.  Another  peril  is  widespread 
hypocrisy.  Archbishop  Whately  said,  "If  our  religion  is  not  true 
we  ought  to  change  it ;  if  it  is  true  we  are  bound  to  propagate 
what  we  believe  to  be  the  truth."  There  is  no  middle  ground. 
The  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  should  either 
change  their  creed  or  devote  themselves  far  more  earnestly  to 
the  world's  evangelization. 

There  is  also  the  peril  that  we  shall  yield  to  the  dangers  of 
ease,  selfishness,  luxury,  and  low  ideals.  I  speak  for  the  young 
men  of  the  Church  when  I  say  that  they  need  something  to  call 
out  the  best  energies  of  their  minds  and  hearts,  something  that 
appeals  to  the  heroic  and  the  self-denying  in  them,  something 
that  will  lead  them  to  depend  less  upon  themselves  and  more 
upon  God.  A  task  sufficient  for  all  these  purposes  is  the  evan- 
gelization of  the  world  in  our  own  day. 

Furthermore,  we  shall  not  have  the  hitting  power  that  our 
Church  ought  to  have  on  the  home  field,  unless  we  do  far  more 
for  the  foreign  field.  No  better  thing  could  happen  on  behalf  of 
our  great  city  evangelization  schemes,  and  on  behalf  of  the  reach- 
ing of  the  rural  districts  of  this  country,  than  to  have  a  great 
uprising,  the  like  of  which  we  have  never  known,  on  behalf  of 
the  foreign  fields.  The  history  of  the  Church  teaches  clearly  and 
conclusively  that  the  missionary  epochs  have  been  those  which 
have  most  stimulated  and  purified  the  Church  on  the  home  field. 

The  most  serious  of  all  the  perils  to  the  Church  at  home  is 
that  the  largest  manifestation  of  the  Spirit  of  Jesus  Christ  is 
withheld  from  those  who  do  not  fully  obey.  Have  you  noticed, 
in  the  New  Testament,  that  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit  is  in- 
variably associated  with  the  spreading  of  the  knowledge  of  Jesus 
Christ?  The  Holy  Spirit  is  not  given  as  an  end  in  himself,  but 
as  a  means  for  testimony  and  witness-bearing  on  behalf  of  Jesus 
Christ.  Therefore,  if  we  would  have  the  mighty  current  of  the 
energies  of  the  Spirit  of  God  coursing  through  the  Church  let  us 


WHY   THE    CHURCH    MUST   GO   FORWARD 


2;; 


come  out  into  a  larger  obedience  to  the  great  missionary  command 
of  Jesus  Christ. 

The  Church  must  go  forward  because  of  the  urgency  of  the 
missionary  task.  Too  many  of  our  organizations  and  churches 
as  well  as  individual  members  are  planning  and  working  as 
though  they  thought  they  had  two  or  more  generations  in  which 
to  do  the  particular  work  for  which  God  is  going  to  hold  them 
responsible.  I  believe  in  building  for  the  future,  but  am  I  not 
right  in  saying  that  the  best  way  to  build  for  the  future  is  to 
serve  our  own  generation  by  the  will  of  God?  We  are  living 
in  a  time  of  unexampled  crisis,  if  we  may  trust  the  testimony  of 
the  best  observers  of  the  non-Christian  nations.  They  tell  us 
that  if  we  fail  to  do  our  duty  in  this  generation  we  jeopardize 
our  opportunities  and  prospects  in  the  second  and  third  genera- 
tions. Moreover,  it  is  a  time  of  marvelous  opportunity.  The 
world  is  better  known  and  more  accessible ;  its  need  is  more 
articulate  and  intelligible,  and  our  ability  to  meet  that  need  is 
far  greater  than  ever  before.  The  forces  of  evil  are  not  deferring 
their  operations  until  the  next  generation.  Materialism  in  Japan 
says,  "Let  me  do  as  I  like  in  that  country  in  this  generation,  and 
I  am  not  concerned  about  the  second."  Likewise  speaks  avarice 
in  China.  Rationalism  says,  "Let  me  have  the  right  of  way  in  the 
Indian  universities  for  the  next  ten  years,  and  I  am  not  so  much 
concerned  about  the  succeeding  twenty  or  thirty  years."  Lust 
says,  "Let  me  go  unbridled  in  the  Turkish  empire  a  little  longer." 
Why  should  not  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  rise  up  and  do  in  this 
generation  the  work  that  can  only  be  done  in  this  generation?  If 
the  non-Christians  of  this  generation  are  ever  to  learn  of  Christ, 
it  must  be  through  the  Christians  of  this  generation.  The  Chris- 
tians who  are  dead  cannot  teach  them.  Obviously,  each 
generation  of  Christians  must  evangelize  its  own  generation  of 
non-Christians,  if  they  are  ever  to  be  evangelized. 

There  is  an  element  of  immediacy  and  urgency  in  the  final 
command  of  Christ  which  we  are  prone  to  overlook.  Let  us  so 
plan  and  work  as  though  we  had  but  one  generation  in  which  to 
plan  and  work.  And  let  us  so  act  that  if  a  sufficient  number  of 
the  other  members  of  the  Church  would  act  with  like  conscien- 
tiousness, earnestness,  and  perseverance  we  should  before  our 
generation  closes  make  the  knowledge  of  Jesus  Christ  accessible 
to  every  creature.    In  view  of  the  awful  need  of  men  apart  from 


Urgency 
of  the 
Missionary 
Task 


A  Time  of 
Marvelous 
Opportunity 


The  Last 
Command 
of  Christ 


278  THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 

Jesus  Christ ;  in  view  of  the  infinite  possibiUties  of  Hves  related 
to  Christ  as  Saviour  and  Lord ;  in  view  of  the  impending  crisis ; 
in  view  of  the  urgency  of  the  situation  on  every  hand ;  in  view 
of  the  conditions  favoring  a  great  forward  movement;  in  view 
of  the  dangers  of  anything  less  than  a  forward  movement;  in 
view  of  the  constraining  memories  of  the  cross  of  Christ  and  the 
love  wherewith  he  hath  loved  you  and  me,  "Let  us,"  to  use  the 
language  of  Alexander  Duff,  the  great  Indian  statesman,  "arise 
and  resolve  at  whatever  cost  of  self-denial,  to  give  ourselves  in 
right  earnest  as  we  have  hitherto  not  done  to  the  stupendous  task 
of  supplanting  the  three  thousand  years'  consolidated  empire  of 
Satan  by  the  complete  establishment  of  Messiah's  reign."  Let 
us  resolve  that,  so  far  as  in  us  lies, 

"  The  work  which  centuries  might  have  done 
Shall  crowd  the  hour  of  setting  sun." 


INTRODUCTION   TO   THE    FINANCIAL 
SESSION 

The    Rev.    John    F.    Goucher,  D.D. 

An  Adequate  As  we  enter  upon  the  special  service  of  worship  which  is  now 
Cooperation  ^^^f^^^  ^^g  j  (jgsire  to  make  two  requests.  The  first  is  that  no  one, 
except  under  the  most  urgent  necessity,  will  leave  this  hall  until 
this  act  of  worship  is  closed.  The  second  is  that  as  participants 
in  this  service  every  person  will  be  continually  in  the  spirit  and 
act  of  prayer.  We  are  facing  a  crisis  to-night;  not  a  crisis  in 
this  Convention,  nor  a  crisis  in  missions,  but  a  crisis  in  each 
individual  life.  With  increased  knowledge,  broadened  vision, 
and  sympathies  profoundly  stirred,  we  must  register  such  coopera- 
tion as  will  measure  our  ability,  or  we  shall  be  guilty  of  that 
"withholding  which  doth  impoverish." 

If  sympathy  is  divorced  from  high  resolve  and  appropriate 
action,  if  it  expends  itself  as  an  emotion  instead  of  functioning  as 
a  motive  for  fuller  ministry,  it  is  enervating,  a  dissipation  which 
atrophies  the  heart  and  leaves  the  life  more  callous  and  selfish. 
The  result  of  this  conference  upon  each  one  of  us  will  be  deter- 
mined by  the  response  we  make  to  the  object  which  it  has 
set  forth. 

The  program  has  proceeded  thus  far  with  a  logical  movement, 


INTRODUCTION    TO   THE    FINANCIAL    SESSION  270 

i 

bringing  us  face  to  face  with  duty.     Opening  with  an  historical   Fac«  to  Face 

background,  it  has  considered  the  problems  of  the  home  field,   '"^^^  ^^^^ 

and  with  broadening  vision,  ranging  world-wide,  it  has  set  forth 

the  open  doors  everywhere  found,  even  to  the  ends  of  the  earth. 

It  has  discussed  and  illustrated  class  and  individual  opportunity 

and  efficiency,  and  now  the  time  for  argument  and  appeal  is  past 

and  each  one  of  us  is  facing  a  personal  obligation  to  act. 

We  earnestly  entreat  you  to  raise  your  hearts  in  prayer,  not  to  A  Time  for 
some  power  away  off  and  invisible,  but  in  the  hush  of  this  quiet  j^^J^^  *° 
hour  lift  your  hearts  to  the  Christ  who  gave  his  life  for  us  and  who 
points  to  the  unchurched  millions  for  whom  he  died  and  whom 
he  loves  with  an  unutterable  love.  As  he  looks  down  into  the 
depth  of  your  heart,  look  up  into  his  yearning  eyes  and  make 
responsive  answer  to  his  challenge.  Answer  the  Christ  if  you 
consent ;  answer  the  Christ  if  you  refuse.  Let  this  be  a  season 
of  prayer,  a  season  of  action.  We  face  a  gracious,  blessed,  ex- 
ceptional opportunity  so  to  invest  of  that  which  we  hold  as 
stewards  of  the  manifold  grace  of  God  as  to  send  a  thrill  out 
into  the  loneliest  places  of  the  earth,  beget  confidence  in  those 
whose  faith  has  been  shaken,  carry  hope  to  the  millions  who  are 
in  darkness,  strengthen  the  Church  at  home,  secure  the  enrich- 
ment of  the  divine  approval  upon  our  own  hearts,  and  improve 
our  qualifications  for  better  service. 

The  missionary  collection  of  our  Church  will  show  an  increase   The  Financial 

for  this  year  of  about  one  hundred  thousand  dollars.     That  will  !*?*^^  °^  ^^^ 
,       ,       ,     1  .  Missions 

be  absorbed  m  restoring  the  eight  per  cent  cut  of  last  year,  and 

will  be  insufficient  properly  to  maintain  the  work  as  it  is.  Our 
Missionary  Society  has  been  able  to  do  practically  nothing  for 
fifteen  years  or  more  tow^ard  properly  equipping  its  agencies, 
liquidating  debts  in  the  foreign  fields,  or  acquiring  property  at 
the  strategic  points  for  our  rapidly  increasing  work.  As  Dr. 
Leonard  showed  in  his  paper  Tuesday  afternoon,  these  urgent 
demands  necessitate  the  expenditure  within  the  next  twelve 
months  of  one  million  dollars.  I  can  hardly  ask  this  Convention 
to  make  an  offering  of  one  million  dollars,  for  that  would  put  the 
rest  of  the  Church,  those  who  are  not  here,  at  a  serious  disad- 
vantage ;  but  one  fourth  of  that  amount,  or  two  hundred  and 
fifty  thousand  dollars,  is  a  minimum  offering  with  which  we 
should  worship  God  to-night.  This  sum  is  suggested  as  a  A  Suggested 
minimum    for   various    considerations.      Let    me    indicate   two:  ^^^ 


28o 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


Proving 
Leadership 


Fledges  Made 


First,  this  Convention  has  present,  as  properly  enrolled  delegates, 
one  fourth  of  all  the  presiding  elders  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church.  These  show,  by  their  presence  and  interest  in  the  great 
work  of  the  world's  evangelization,  that  they  are  among  the  most 
wide-awake,  open-hearted,  loyal,  efficient,  and  representative  of 
the  entire  body.  They  are  able  to  pledge  their  districts  for  at 
least  one  fourth  of  the  million  dollars  and  then  go  home  and 
prove  their  leadership  by  raising  the  same.  Second,  one  hundred 
dollars  is  an  appropriate  unit  for  a  centennial  offering.  That 
would  require  of  the  giver  only  two  dollars  per  week  for  one 
year.  There  is  scarcely  a  delegate  present  who  could  not  as  a 
special  act  of  worship  by  extra  work  or  wise  sacrifice,  give  that 
amount  between  now  and  the  end  of  1903.  Many  could,  I  doubt 
not  will,  give  multiples  of  this  unit  according  to  their  several 
ability  and  their  Christlikeness  of  spirit.  This  conference  includes 
twenty-five  hundred  persons  to  whom  delegates'  tickets  have  been 
issued.  If  each  delegate  would  give  one  hundred  dollars,  that 
would  make  the  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars. 

Let  me  ask  you  to  keep  in  the  spirit  of  prayeryito  give  your 
presence  and  your  prayers  to  the  close  of  the  service,  if  you  can 
give  nothing  else,  and  I  believe  God  will  work  among  us  so 
mightily  that  this  shall  be  remembered  as  possibly  the  most 
gracious  hour  thus  far  in  our  history. 

Look  at  the  cards  which  have  been  placed  in  your  hands,  take 
your  pencils,  raise  your  hearts  to  God,  and  so  write  that  you  may 
have  his  approval  upon  your  sacrifice,  upon  this  expression  of 
your  devotion,  upon  your  cooperation  with  him  in  the  great  work 
of  the  world's  redemption.  To  be  joint  heirs  with  Jesus  Christ 
we  must  be  identified  with  him  in  the  antecedents  of  victory,  as 
well  as  in  the  consequences  of  victory. 

[Beginning  with  a  conditional  pledge  of  $ioo,ooo  made  by 
Bishop  Thoburn  for  a  friend,  this  pledge  to  be  binding  provided 
another  $100,000  should  be  raised  that  night,  the  taking  of  sub- 
scriptions proceeded  with  great  enthusiasm.  Reports  of  pledges 
made  at  the  parallel  meetings  in  the  Epworth  Memorial  and  Jen- 
nings Avenue  Methodist  Churches  were  given  from  time  to  time. 
Subscriptions  totaling  $300,700  were  made  on  this  occasion,  this 
amount  being  increased  later  to  about  $335,000.] 


BELOVED,    IF    GOD   SO    LOVED    US 


281 


"BELOVED,    IF    GOD    SO    LOVED    US" 

The    Rev.    William    F.  McDowell,   D.D. 

St.  Paul  was  the  apostolic  logician,  but  even  St.  Paul  never 
did  anything  finer  than  this.  This  is  the  high  logic  of  a  mystic. 
The  conclusions  of  the  men  who  see  with  both  mind  and  heart 
are  not  always  comfortable.  They  put  or  see  so  much  in  the  two 
premises  that  the  conclusion  is  certain  to  be  overwhelmingly  per- 
sonal. This  logic  is  correct,  but  not  academic.  There  are  in  the 
premise  a  world-movement  of  love,  a  heavenly  Father's  yearning 
heart,  an  angel  song  above  the  hills,  a  babe's  low  cry  in  a  manger, 
a  divine-human  life,  a  cross  on  a  low  hill  outside  the  gate,  an 
open  grave,  and  an  upper  room.  All  this  John  knew.  There  are 
in  the  conclusion  a  new  humanity,  prophets  and  apostles,  a  new 
word  on  men's  lips,  a  new  temper  in  men's  hearts,  brotherhood 
between  hostile  peoples,  hope  for  hopeless  children,  light  for  those 
who  sit  in  darkness,  hospitals,  orphanages,  and  schools.  And  far 
off  men  and  women  will  see  this  premise  and  themselves  get  into 
the  conclusion,  and  we  shall  see  with  our  eyes  William  Carey, 
Henry  Martyn,  Melville  Cox,  James  Hannington,  Alexander 
DuflF,  Coleridge  Patteson,  William  Butler,  and  Isabella  Thoburn. 
They  are  the  conclusion  of  the  old  mystic's  high  logic.  He  puts 
God's  love,  as  seen  in  Jesus  Christ,  into  the  premise,  and  man's 
love  for  man  into  the  conclusion.  This  is  not  abstract  nor 
academic.  St.  John  was  an  old  man  when  he  wrote  it,  but  he 
must  have  had  a  strange  thrill  as  he  remembered  what  he  had 
seen.  He  must  have  lifted  up  his  old  head  again  in  holy  joy, 
remembering  that  once  it  had  lain  on  the  heart  of  immortal 
love. 

Herein  is  love,  not  that  we  loved  God,  but  that  he  loved  us  and 
sent  his  Son  to  be  the  propitiation  for  our  sins.  "His  Son,  the 
propitiation,  our  sins."  Then  follows  the  great  deduction: 
"Beloved,  //  God  so  loved  us,  we  ought  also  to  love  one  another." 
And  //  has  not  the  force  of  a  question,  but  an  assertion.  We  use 
the  eternal  interrogation,  the  apostles  the  everlasting  affirmation. 
Inspired  by  God's  example,  saved  by  God's  grace;  sustained  by 
God's  love,  enabled  by  God's  power,  they  proposed  to  do  for  all 
men  what  God  had  done  for  them,  namely,  love  them.  And  that 
is  the  final  definition  of  Christian  missions :    Some  people  whom 


The  High 
Logic  of  a 
Mystic 


Premise  and 
Conclusion 


The  Great 
Deduction 


282 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


God  loves  love  other  people  whom  God  also  loves.  Love  made 
the  mystic's  logic  possible ;  love  is  the  outcome  of  the  logic  which 
is  no  longer  mystic,  but  practical.  We  draw  near  the  formal  close 
of  this  conference  with  new  enthusiasm,  new  and  larger  knowl- 
edge of  fields  and  methods,  majestic  purposes  and  noble  plans, 
and  all  this  is  vital  and  well.  But  the  imperial  word  with  which 
we  must  close  is  not  machinery,  nor  method,  nor  money,  but  love. 
Christian  missions  call  for  machinery,  methods,  and  money,  more 
and  better  than  we  have  ever  had,  but  all  these  are  the  means  to 
the  end  that  the  love  of  God  may  be  shed  abroad.  We  define  the 
movement  in  terms  of  this  holy  afifection. 

Cardinal  Manning  and  Henry  George  were  talking  together, 
and  the  cardinal  said,  "I  love  men  because  Jesus  loved  them."  Mr. 
George  replied,  "And  I  love  Jesus  because  he  loved  men."  The 
cardinal's  remark  was  almost  apostolic.  Blessed  be  the  man  or 
the  Church  whose  conduct  is  as  apostolic  as  that  remark.  For, 
after  all,  this  does  give  us  the  pure  motive.  Emerson  once  said, 
"What  you  are  speaks  so  loud  I  cannot  hear  what  you  say."  And 
again,  "Men  do  not  ask  so  much  what  you  do  as  what  it  is  that 
makes  you  do  it."  Nothing  so  glorifies  or  so  spoils  the  deed  as 
the  motive  for  doing  it.  The  heathen  has  not  been  without  some 
ground  for  suspicion  of  the  Christian  motives  and  the  Christian 
Church.  He  has  sometimes  suspected  us  of  being  a  trifle  over- 
apostolic.  You  remember  how  St.  Paul  said,  "I  seek  not  yours, 
but  you."  The  heathen,  keen,  shrewd,  and  observing,  has  heard 
so  much  of  the  political  and  commercial  advantages  of  missions 
that  he  might  easily  imagine  that  the  new  apostles  seek  not  only 
him,  but  incidentally  as  much  of  his  as  might  come  naturally. 
But  love  never  seeks  her  own,  and  the  true  missionary  does  not 
aim  to  set  the  wires  of  commerce  singing,  but  to  awaken  the  song 
of  the  rejoicing  angels.  So  St.  John's  sentence  had  reference  not 
only  to  the  quantity,  not  chiefly  to  the  quantity,  of  God's  love, 
but  to  its  quality.  The  value  of  love  depends  upon  its  source  and 
its  kind  quite  as  much  as  upon  its  size. 

The  most  discouraging  thing  in  life  is  the  gray  mixture  of 
selfishness  in  the  motives  behind  the  deeds  of  good  men.  The 
patriotism  which  seeks  titles,  and  pensions,  and  personal  monu- 
ments in  the  public  square ;  the  benevolence  that  gives  large  gifts 
for  large  praise  and  noisy  gratitude;  the  philanthropy  that 
strenuously  exacts  recognition  and  reward  are  all  of  a  piece  with 


''beloved,  if  god  so  loved  us*'  283 

i 
that  hideous  old  theology  that  made  God  appear  to  do  good  to 
men  that  they  might  be  induced  to  adore  him  in  return.  And  the 
missionary  movement  that  gets  itself  mixed  up  with  the  pride  of 
statistics,  the  lust  of  denominational  glory  or  personal  triumph,  is 
no  longer  Christian.  It  has  lost  its  apostolic  basis  and  color.  If 
God  so  loved  us,  in  quantity  and  in  kind ;  so  loved  us  that  he 
gave  without  measure  and  without  limit ;  so  loved  us  that  he 
reckoned  not  the  return ;  so  loved  us  that  he  gave  not  looking 
for  payment ;  so  loved  us  as  children  and  not  hirelings,  then  we 
ought  also  like  this  to  love  one  another.  Merciless,  pitiless,  re- 
lentless logic  from  which  we  cannot  escape !  Sharp,  burning,  All-compre- 
exacting  logic  which  leaves  no  place  for  indifference  or  selfishness  Totji"^ 
or  hate  !  Rare,  holy,  divine  logic  whose  symbol  is  the  cross,  whose 
living  definition  is  the  Christ,  we  who  have  not  half  cared  for  one 
another  bow  down  in  shame  and  will  love  one  another ;  we  who 
have  much  less  than  half  cared  for  our  kin  beyond  the  sea,  we 
will  love  them,  love  them  also.  Matchless  old  mystic,  you  are 
right.  In  the  face  of  Christ  we  ought,  and  in  the  grace  of  Christ 
we  will. 

That  motive  will  be  pure  enough  for  missions  to  live  in ;  it  will  A  Large 
also  be  large  enough  for  missions  to  move  in.  It  is  pure  enough 
to  see  through,  and  large  enough  to  float  in.  And  it  takes  lots 
of  room.  "How  much  space  do  you  require?"  said  an  unbeliever 
to  a  Christian.  "I  must  have  an  empire,"  was  the  quick  response ; 
"give  me  less  than  that  and  I  shall  smother."  The  apostles  knew 
many  things,  by  divine  grace.  They  dealt  in  big  terms  and  big 
ideas.  When  they  talked  about  eternal  life  they  meant  something 
both  noble  and  lasting.  They  were  familiar  with  the  ideas  of 
both  quality  and  quantity.  Following  their  Master,  they  believed 
in  leaven  and  in  a  whole  lump  leavened.  They  not  only  had  the 
fine  view,  but  the  world  view.  Salvation  in  Christ  was  not  only 
good,  but  abundant.  It  was  quite  in  character  for  them  to  turn 
the  world  upside  down.  Naturally  this  rare  old  mystic  gets  the 
idea  of  size  into  this  verse  about  motives.  Maybe  he  had  seen 
life  fail  at  that  point,  as  we  have.  For  many  a  man  fails,  not 
because  his  motives  are  impure,  but  just  because  they  are  small. 
The  thing  is  good  enough,  but  not  big  enough.  The  dewdrop  is 
quite  as  pure  as  the  ocean,  and  the  dewdrop  is  a  thing  of  surpass- 
ing beauty;  but  it  takes  an  ocean  to  float  the  Oregon.  In  an 
ocean  she  can  run  swiftly  around  the  world  and  do  her  splendid 


284 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


Where  Small 
Motives 
Break  Down 


The  Bound- 
lessness of 
God's  Love 


work  for  freedom ;  in  a  millpond  she  is  helpless  and  only  ruins 
herself.  "We  shall  fight  a  hundred  battles  and  never  see  anything 
finer  than  the  Oregon  was  on  that  morning  at  Santiago,"  said 
Fighting  Bob  of  the  Iowa.  But  it  takes  an  ocean  to  float  such 
a  ship. 

Smaller  motives  have  had  their  influence  and  place.  We  have 
tried  to  do  good  to  men  because  we  pitied  them.  Our  lot  was 
better  than  theirs,  our  history  superior  to  theirs.  And  pity  is 
fine.  It  works  well  into  a  missionary  hymn,  and  it  sometimes 
secures  a  dollar.  It  is  not  far  from  love  under  certain  condi- 
tions. But  some  day  the  prosperoiis  heathen,  the  educated 
heathen,  the  satisfied  heathen  comes  our  way  and  tells  us  that  his 
religion  is  as  good  as  ours  and  that  he  and  his  people  care  for 
none  of  our  pity.  They  want  only  our  recognition  and  admira- 
tion. And  pity  fails  and  our  enterprise  is  on  the  rocks.  The 
water  was  pure,  but  shallow.    It  takes  an  ocean. 

Or  we  have  tried  to  do  good  to  men  because  we  admired  them. 
With  much  scorn  we  have  repudiated  the  old  and  what  we  called 
the  false  theology  with  its  wretched  doctrine  of  the  depravity  of 
men.  And  we  have  grown  eloquent  over  the  essential  goodness 
in  men ;  the  divine  spark,  smothered  and  smoldering  often,  but 
still  a  divine  spark ;  the  covered  image  of  God  under  the  worst 
of  appearances.  We  have  said  smooth  words  about  sin,  calling 
the  ugly  thing  by  lovely  names,  talking  about  imperfect  develop- 
ment, unhappy  ancestry,  and  unfortunate  environment.  It  is 
easy  to  do  all  that  in  one's  study  or  under  the  influence  of  poetry 
and  generous  impulses.  There  is  truth  enough  in  it  to  start  us  on 
our  way.  But  at  close  range  with  men  all  the  hideous  devils  of 
selfishness,  and  lust,  cruelty,  and  falsehood  appear.  We  see  them 
at  home,  we  see  them  abroad.  And  our  motive  breaks  down. 
Human  nature  does  not  look  admirable  in  itself,  but  only  admir- 
able in  Christ.  The  millions  are  not  in  him.  They  will  be 
admirable  when  they  are  like  him,  but  men  are  not  very  Christlike 
to-day.  The  motive  is  good,  but  not  large  enough.  We  get  on 
the  rocks  too  soon.    It  takes  an  ocean  for  an  Oregon. 

So  with  every  form  of  the  religion  of  humanity  and  ethical 
salvation,  or  philanthropy  as  a  worship.  Admiration  for  the  race, 
pity  for  the  race,  belief  in  the  race — they  all  break  down  at  last. 
They  are  not  large  enough.  James  Hannington  could  not  live  in 
any  one  of  them.    Isabella  Thoburn  would  strand  and  lash  herself 


"beloved^  if  god  so  loved  us  285 

i 

to  pieces  in  this  shallow  sea.  The  commercial  appeal  is  good 
but  not  masterful ;  the  desire  to  plant  the  flag  is  fascinating  but 
not  final ;  the  wish  to  civilize  is  noble  but  not  noblest.  Some- 
where all  these  are  exhausted.  But  the  love  of  God  fails  not  and 
is  not  exhausted.  Love  for  men  because  of  God's  love  for  us 
all  gives  us  ah  ocean  to  float  in.  And  there  are  no  hidden  rocks 
to  wreck  us  here.  "Love  of  God,  so  pure  and  boundless !"  It  is 
pure  enough  to  see  through  and  large  enough  to  live  and  move 
in.  For  the  missionary  movement  began  by  being  a  movement 
of  love.  God  was  its  source  and  spring,  Christ  its  full  and 
glorious  expression.  It  ends  by  being  still  a  movement  of  love, 
God  still  being  its  source  and  spring,  the  living  Christ  still  its 
full  and  glorious  expression,  and  redeemed  men  like  ourselves  its 
faithful  messengers  and  witnesses  in  all  the  earth.  We  will  not 
measure  our  love  nor  govern  our  energies  now  by  our  success, 
but  by  his  love ;  nor  by  our  means,  but  by  his  love ;  nor  by  our 
difficulties,  but  by  his  love ;  nor  by  distance  nor  hardship,  but  by 
his  love.  The  heathen  are  not  lovely,  nor  are  we,  but  his  love 
draws  us  from  without,  and  drives  us  from  within ;  and  across 
all  seas,  up  all  rivers,  over  all  mountains,  beneath  all  suns,  beside 
all  waters,  we  children  of  his  love  to  other  children  of  his  love, 
will  go  and  send  until  "one  family  we  dwell  in  him." 

The  motive  must  be  pure  enough  to  live  in,  large  enough  to  The  Point  of 
move  in,  and  high  enough  to  rise  in.  This  is  really  the  parting  I'eparture 
of  the  ways.  We  must  have  one  point  of  contact,  but  we  must 
also  have  our  point  of  departure.  Christianity  must  be  like  other 
religions,  the  Bible  like  other  books,  the  Christian  missionary 
like  other  men.  That  gives  us  relations  and  contact.  We  must 
touch  men  as  their  own  religions,  their  own  sacred  books,  their 
own  teachers  touch  them.  But  we  must  touch  them  as  all  these 
do  not.  There  must  be  one  element  in  this  movement  and  its 
motive  which  makes  Christianity  not  one  of  a  kind,  but  one  alone. 
This  is  the  crucial  test,  and  it  meets  its  crucial  test  with  its  cross 
and  its  crucified  Christ.  It  is  not  many  words  backward  from 
"if  God  so  loved  us"  to  those  other  words,  "propitiation  for  our 
sins."  And  the  holy  old  mystic  tied  them  together  by  calling  us 
"beloved."  In  the  sacrament  we  say,  "Not  for  ours  only,  but 
also  for  the  sins  of  the  whole  world."  The  motive  for  our  going 
has  become  sacramental.  We  spell  it  out  at  last  in  the  light  and 
terms  of  the   Redeemer's  cross  and   his   wonderful   redemption. 


286 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


Only  One 

Motive 

Redemptive 


This  is  how  God  loved  us.     This  is  what  drives  us  across  seas 
and  lands. 

Other  motives  are  pure  and  large,  but  only  one  is  redemptive. 
Other  religions  contam  beautiful  precepts,  superb  literature,  and 
lofty  doctrines,  but  only  one  contains  the  power  of  God  unto  sal- 
vation. Like  other  books,  our  Bible  has  its  heroes ;  unlike  all 
others,  ours  has  its  Christ.  Others  have  great  names,  only  one 
is  called  Jesus.    Other  religions  have  songs,  but  only  one  sings; 


"  There  is  a  fountain  filled  with  blood 
Drawn  from  Immanuel's  veins  ; 

And  sinners,  plunged  beneath,  that  flood. 
Lose  all  their  guilty  stains," 


God's 

Unfailing 

Pledge 


A  New 
Creation 


Here  we  are  on  the  heights,  my  brethren.  I  would  not  go  across 
the  street  to  give  India  a  new  theology  or  China  a  new  code ;  the 
one  has  more  theology  than  it  can  understand,  the  other  a  better 
code  than  it  can  live  up  to.  But  I  would  go  around  the  world  to 
tell  India  and  China  of  Him  who  is  able  to  save  to  the  uttermost. 
It  comes  to  this,  finally,  that  the  great  motive  is  not  the  command, 
but  the  Christ;  not  the  record,  but  ihe  Redeemer  living  in  its 
pages ;  not  the  fair  story,  but  the  sufficient  Saviour.  Herein  is 
love,  that  God  sent  his  Son.  Through  him  God  speaks  to  us, 
through  him  we  speak  to  God.  The  incarnation,  the  cross,  and  the 
open  grave  are  God's  unfailing  pledge  to  his  children  that  he 
loves  them  and  seeks  them ;  that  the  door  into  the  old  home 
stands  open;  that  stained  and  beaten  men  may  be  clean  and 
victorious  men.  They  are  God's  declaration  that  sin  is  not  su- 
preme, that  sorrow  is  not  overwhelming,  and  that  death  has  no 
more  dominion.  Christ  came  because  this  once  was  true.  He 
lives  and  it  is  forever  true.  Christ  came  not  simply  for  man's 
improvement,  but  for  man's  redemption.  "We  owe  him  more 
than  our  thanks,  we  owe  him  our  lives."  We  were  bad,  he  died 
to  make  us  good.  We  were  wrecked,  he  comes  to  restore  us. 
Another  has  said  in  substance:  "He  was  not  a  contributor  to 
human  progress,  but  the  Saviour  of  human  ruin.  It  was  not  a 
new  impulse  or  stimulus,  but  a  new  life  and  power.  Pentecost 
Avas  not  a  new  sensation,  but  a  new  experience.  It  was  not  a 
tonic  to  the  old  exhaustion,  it  was  a  resurrection  from  the  dead ; 
not  a  revival,  but  a  new  creation ;"  not  the  throwing  of  a  few 
stones  out  of  the  path,  but  the  opening  wide  of  a  new  and  living 


THE    NEED   OF    MISSIONARY    IXFORMATION  287 

i 

way.  This  is  how  God  loved  us  and'  loves  us.  Love  so  pure  that 
the  cross  is  its  only  fit  expression ;  love  so  large  that  the  light  of 
the  cross  fills  the  earth ;  love  so  high  that  the  cross  stands  alone 
as  its  symbol !  This  is  how  God  loved  us  and  loves  us.  O,  rare 
old  mystic,  truly  you  knew !  You  heard  his  words,  you  saw  his 
eyes,  you  touched  his  hands,  you  leaned  on  his  breast,  you  saw 
him  on  the  cross  and  after.  And  you  said,  "if  God  so  loved  us." 
You  are  right,  you  are  right,  "We  ouglit  also  to  love,  we  ought 
also  to  love,  we  ought  also  to  love  one  another."  God  helping 
us,  so  we  will. 


THE  NEED  OF  MISSIONARY  INFORMATION 
IN    THE    HOME    CHURCH 

The    Rev.    George    B.    Smyth,  D.D. 

When  in  July  last  I  received  word  that  I  was  to  read  a  paper 
at  this  great  Convention  I  was  troubled.  I  was  just  beginning 
slowly  to  recover  from  a  long  and  serious  illness.  I  was  still 
lying  close  beside  the  dark  river,  and  could  almost  hear  its  waters 
flowing  ominously  by.  It  seemed  hardly  possible  then  that  I 
would  ever  be  able  to  do  anything  again.  But  the  Master  of  life 
touched  the  feeble  body  and  brought  it  back  to  health  and  vigor, 
and  I  am  here  to-day  enjoying  the  high  privilege  of  speaking  on 
a  subject  of  vast  interest  to  myself,  and  of  vast  importance  to  the 
great  enterprise  to  which,  twenty  years  ago,  I  gave  my  life. 

Again  I  was  troubled  because  I  soon  saw  that  it  would  be  im-  A  Frank 
possible  to  write  frankly  on  the  subject  assigned  me  without 
giving  some  admirable  people  serious  offense.  But  my  anxiety 
on  that  score  has  since  been  relieved.  In  the  official  notice  of  the 
purpose  and  character  of  this  Convention  which  reached  me  later 
I  found  these  words :  "The  Convention  to  be  held  in  Cleveland 
October  21-24,  1902,  is  not  to  be  regarded  as  one  of  the  altogether 
too  numerous  conventions  now  being  held  in  the  Christian  world. 
Its  purpose  is  not  primarily  to  arouse  enthusiasm.  It  is  rather 
a  council  of  war."  That  is  the  true  ideal  for  such  a  gathering  as 
this.  We  are  not  here  to  flatter  one  another,  to  tell  one  another 
about  the  great  successes  of  our  Church,  omitting  entirely  all 
mention  of  her  failures,  to  indulge  in  a  pitiable  debauch  of  de- 
nominational or  other  boasting.     We  are   here   to   consult,   to 


Presentation 


288 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


The  Present 
Lack  of 
Information 


Poorly 
Attended 
Missionary 
Meetings 


deliberate,  to  learn,  if  we  may,  how  the  missionary  work  which 
God  has  committed  to  our  care  may  best  be  done.  We  are  here, 
as  the  announcement  says,  to  hold  a  "council  of  war."  Now,  if 
there  is  one  thing  more  than  another  demanded  of  those  who 
take  part  in  such  a  council  it  is  that  each  shall  speak  the  truth 
as  he  knows  it,  in  no  sense  intending  to  ofifend,  but  rather  that, 
by  so  doing,  he  may  the  more  effectively  serve  the  great  cause 
whose  interests  we  are  here  to  consider.  I  feel  therefore  at 
liberty  to  speak  freely ;  the  very  charter  of  the  Convention  not 
only  permits,  it  demands  it. 

With  this  much  of  brief  but  necessary  introduction,  let  us 
proceed  to  the  subject  before  us — the  need  of  missionary  infor- 
mation in  the  home  Church.  I  shall  begin  by  defining.  What 
does  the  title  of  this  paper  permit  or  demand?  Strictly  speaking, 
I  suppose  it  might  be  expressed  in  this  fashion :  the  lack  of  infor- 
mation in  the  home  Church.  But  this  is  also  included:  the 
pressing  demand  for  information ;  and  this  opens  before  us  a 
large  way,  and  permits  and  necessitates  the  consideration  of  the 
question,  how  may  this  information  be  supplied?  Without  dis- 
cussing this  phase  of  the  subject  we  should  have  to  confine 
ourselves  to  the  negative  and  discouraging  task  of  showing  that 
missionary  information  is  generally  lacking  among  us.  To  do 
that,  and  nothing  more,  would  be  an  inadequate  work  indeed. 
We  must  do  that,  but  we  cannot  stop  there. 

I  would  invite  your  attention,  therefore,  in  the  first  place,  to 
some  of  the  evidences  of  the  fact  that  we  do  not  know  as  much 
about  missions  as  we  ought  to.  Beginning  at  home  and  with 
the  simplest  things,  that  there  is  a  great  lack  of  knowledge  as  to 
what  missions  are,  and  what  they  are  doing,  is  evident  from  the 
very  great  difficulty  often  experienced  in  inducing  people  to  attend 
meetings  held  for  the  consideration  of  missions  and  missionary 
work.  I  do  not,  of  course,  refer  to  missionary  conventions  like 
this,  great  conventions  are  always  well  attended.  I  refer  to  the 
regular — or,  alas !  as  it  must  too  often  be  called,  the  irregular — 
missionary  meeting  of  the  local  church.  By  many  among  us  the 
missionary  enterprise  is  not  regarded  as  an  essential  function  of 
the  church's  life  under  present  conditions,  and  interest  in  it  is 
not  thought  of  as  an  integral  part  of  the  Christian  character.  It 
is  looked  upon  by  many  as  a  generous  fad,  the  working  of  which 
is  not  a  matter  of  concern,  and  the  effects  of  which,  even  at  the 


THE   NEED  OF    MISSIONARY   INFORMATION 


289 


best,  are  without  importance  in  the  present  and  without  promise 
for  the  future.  In  a  word,  too  many  of  our  people  look  upon  the 
whole  subject  as  remote  and  unreal,  good  enough  for  children 
and  elect  ladies,  but  not  big  enough,  not  fraught  with  issues 
weighty  enough,  to  demand  the  attention  of  intelligent  men.  The 
great  enterprise  is  regarded  as  a  kind  of  side  issue,  scarcely 
worthy  of  attention  amid  the  pressing,  and  supposedly  practical, 
claims  of  our  strenuous  modern  life. 

To  show  the  general  truth  of  these  statements  nothing 
more  is  needed  than  to  call  attention  to  the  infrequency  with 
which  missions  are  included  in  the  programs  of  Epworth 
League  and  Sunday  school  conventions,  camp  meetings,  min- 
isterial and  lay  associations,  and  other  general  Church  as- 
semblies. At  the  League  annual  meetings  the  subject  is 
mentioned  and  twenty  minutes  may  be  given  to  its  con- 
sideration. I  have  attended  Epworth  League  general  meet- 
ings where  the  evangelization  of  the  world,  the  proclamation  of 
the  message  of  Christ  to  men,  received  far  less  attention  than 
was  given  to  the  most  trifling  incident  of  a  merely  local  character 
that  came  before  those  in  attendance.  At  Sunday  school  conven- 
tions the  subject  is  hardly  ever  mentioned  at  all.  The  organizers 
and  leaders  of  such  meetings  do  not  appear  to  deem  it  necessary 
to  train  the  children  of  the  Church  to  a  generous  interest  in  the 
redemption  of  the  world.  They  discuss  methods  of  teaching,  the 
organization  of  schools,  the  qualifications  of  teachers,  and  num- 
berless other  matters  chiefly  subjective  or  mechanical,  but  they 
neglect  this  magnificent  missionary  enterprise,  this  glorious 
altruism  of  the  Christian  spirit,  this  desire  to  make  the  privileges 
and  the  blessings  of  the  Gospel  the  common  possessions  of  the 
world.  Yet  here,  if  made  aright,  is  the  basis  of  the  noblest 
appeal  to  everything  that  is  best  in  children  and  youth.  It  would 
do  them  more  good,  give  them  a  finer  moral  uplift,  expand  more 
widely  their  intellectual  horizon,  and  enrich  more  grandly  all  of 
life  than  most  of  the  themes  to  which  Sunday  school  organizers 
and  teachers  devote  themselves  so  zealously.  No  nobler  thought 
ever  enters  the  mind  of  child  or  man  than  this,  that  he  may  be 
an  active  cooperating  partner  with  God  in  the  redemption  of  the 
world.  The  Sunday  school  leaders  do  not  always  think  thus  of 
missions,  they  do  not  know  what  missions  are,  they  need  infor- 
mation. 
19 


A  Subject 
Too  Often 
Neglected 


The  Basis  of 
the  Noblest 
Appeal 


290 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


Meetings  of 

Ministerial 

Associations 


A  Narrow 
View 


But  stranger  still  is  the  neglect  of  missions  at  the  meetings  of 
ministerial  associations,  those  gatherings  of  the  very  teachers 
and  leaders  of  the  Church.  There,  if  anywhere,  all  the  great 
interests  of  the  Church  of  Christ,  all  that  concerns  the  establish- 
ment and  growth  of  the  kingdom,  should  receive  earnest  and 
properly  proportioned  attention.  The  world-wide  enterprises  of 
missions  do  not  receive  it.  This  is  not  due  to  constitutional 
narrowness  on  the  part  of  those  who  attend  those  meetings  and 
take  part  in  them.  They  are  not  narrow  men  in  their  intellectual 
interests.  They  pay  too  much  attention,  perhaps,  at  such  meet- 
ings, to  the  mechanics  of  the  profession,  but  they  do  look  beyond 
themselves,  beyond  their  merely  personal  and  parochial  concerns. 
The  trouble  is  that  when  they  do  so  they  too  often  turn  both  eyes 
and  ears  backward,  and  listen  to  learned  essays  on  the  Egyptians, 
or  the  Assyrians,  or  the  Babylonians,  or  some  other  ancient  race 
which,  however  interesting,  is  dead,  and  has  no  sort  of  connection 
with  the  living  world  of  to-day.  Indeed,  one  occasionally  meets 
with  a  learned  brother  who  tells  you  with  considerable  pride  that 
he  has  made  a  specialty  of  Egypt  or  Assyria,  but  who  looks  at 
you  with  polite  amazement  if  you  ask  him  how  much  time  he  has 
given  to  China  or  Japan.  Remember  that  China  and  India  and 
Japan  are  alive,  and  with  the  voice  of  life  demand  your  attention. 
To  the  minister  of  to-day  the  living  Chinaman  is  of  infinitely 
more  importance  than  the  dead  Assyrian,  and  the  policy  of  the 
empress  dowager  of  far  greater  moment  than  the  decrees  of 
Nebuchadnezzar. 

The  programs  thus  referred  to,  and  the  little  space  assigned 
in  them  to  missions,  are  due  to  want  of  knowledge,  to  lack  of 
information.  The  missionary  propaganda  is  ignorantly  looked 
upon  as  a  small  thing.  It  is,  on  the  contrary,  one  of  the  mightiest 
forces  of  the  day.  There  are  many  Western  agencies  at  work  in 
non-Christian  lands,  and  among  the  greatest,  if  not  itself  the 
greatest,  for  individual,  social,  and  national  regeneration,  is  the 
Christian  mission  with  its  churches,  its  hospitals,  its  schools,  the 
new  literature  it  is  creating,  the  new  thought  it  is  dififusing,  the* 
new  life  it  is  making.  In  the  old  half-dead  world  of  the  East  it 
is  the  mightiest  dynamic  from  the  West  breaking  down  the 
worthless  of  the  old,  and  bringing  in  the  best  of  the  new.  If 
this  place  of  missions  abroad  were  known  would  they  be  treated 
as  they  are  by  the   makers  of  convention  programs?     If  the 


THE    NEED   OF    MISSIONARY    INFORMATION 


29  r 


missionary  movement  were  looked  upon,  as  it  ought  to  be,  as  the 
renevver,  the  remaker,  the  regenerator  of  nations,  would  any  man 
consent  to  be  ignorant  of  it  while  he  prided  himself  on  his 
acquaintance  with  Pharaoh's  uncles,  the  aunts  of  Assurbanipal, 
and  all  the  rest  of  the  dead  world  about  the  Euphrates  and  the 
Nile?  The  Yang-tse,  the  Ganges,  the  Congo,  and  the  Amazon 
are  the  rivers  of  to-day,  and  the  millions  who  are  by  them  are  the 
people  who  crowd  and  press  us  for  to-day's  attention. 

In  all  this  do  not  think  that  I  am  asking  too  much.  I  do  not 
ask  that  missions  shall  always  be  given  right  of  way,  that  every 
other  subject  shall  be  pushed  aside.  I  ask  only  that  they  be  given 
the  place  to  which  their  importance  entitles  them,  that  the  makers 
of  programs  cultivate  what  they  have  not  cultivated  in  the  past, 
a  due  sense  of  programmic  proportion. 

Another  evidence  of  the  lack  of  information  is  the  lamentable 
effect  on  the  Christian  people  of  the  slanderous  misrepresentations 
which  are  periodically  sent  home  by  wandering  special  corre- 
spondents, or  brought  home  by  the  pestilent  tribe  of  Western 
globe-trotters.  This  was  painfully  shown  at  the  time  of  the 
Boxer  outbreak  in  China.  Through  the  press  the  whole  Western 
world  was  deluged  with  misrepresentations  and  falsehoods  about 
the  conduct  of  the  missionaries.  Some  of  the  statements  were 
absolutely  preposterous,  but  nothing  was  too  wicked  or  too  foolish 
to  be  published,  nothing  was  so  malicious  that  it  did  not  find 
believers  even  among  Christians. 

It  is  not  necessary  now  to  repeat  the  charges  then  made.  Those 
of  you  who  read  the  papers  will  easily  recall  them.  You  will  re- 
member how  the  missionaries  were  accused  as  the  authors  of 
that  terrible  outbreak.  They  were  charged  with  establishing  in 
China  a  solidarity  of  thieves,  beggars,  and  assassins,  and  then, 
in  the  name  of  Christianity,  protecting  them  from  the  vengeance 
of  their  outraged  countrymen  by  throwing  over  them  the  shelter 
of  a  foreign  flag.  One  wretch  went  so  far  as  to  say  that  the 
missionaries  received  special  rewards  for  conversions  which  ex- 
ceeded a  certain  number,  and  that  therefore  they  increased  their 
numbers  by  the  aid  of  all  the  scoundrels  whom  they  could  make 
sensible  to  their  financial  advances. 

Every  one  of  these  charges,  so  far  as  the  Protestant  mission- 
aries are  concerned,  was  absolutely  false,  yet  they  were  believed 
by  multitudes  of  people;   some,  if  not  all  of  them,  were  believed 


Dignity 
of  the 
Missionary 
Movement 


Views  of  the 
Globe-trotter 


Misrepresen- 
tations 


Charges 

False,  yet 
Believed  by 
Many 


292 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


Missionaries 
the  Best 
Authorities 


Wrong 
Methods  of 
Promotion 


by  many  Christians.  It  is  not  necessary  to  say  that  no  one  be- 
Heved  them  who  knew  how  our  missionaries  v/ere  chosen,  how 
their  work  was  supervised,  what  they  were  doing,  and  what  the 
results  of  their  work  were.  The  men  who  were  acquainted  with 
the  recent  history  of  the  Orient,  who  knew  on  the  one  hand  of 
the  unscrupulous  aggressions  of  some  European  Powers,  and  on 
the  other  of  the  immense  apparatus  of  benevolent  and  ennobling 
agencies  which  the  missionaries  had  brought  into  existence,  the 
character  of  the  Christians,  the  whole  influence  of  the  native 
Church,  knew  that  all  those  charges  were  but  the  wretched  mis- 
representations of  ignorant  or  prejudiced  men.  It  looked  for  a 
time  as  if  there  would  be  a  panic  in  the  Church,  as  if  many  of  the 
friends  of  missions  would  refuse  further  help.  It  was  all  due  to 
lack  of  information.  An  informed  Church,  a  Church  whose 
people  knew  what  missions  were,  and  what  they  had  done,  and 
who  were  familiar  with  the  great  story  of  the  growth  and  prog- 
ress of  the  kingdom  through  the  ages,  would  have  seen  nothing 
in  the  whole  terrible  outbreak  to  shake  her  faith  for  a  moment. 
Ignorance  is  fear ;  knowledge,  in  this  case  as  in  others,  is  courage, 
confidence,  steadiness,  the  assurance  of  victory  in  spite  of  appar- 
ent defeat. 

On  this  whole  subject  remember  that  your  own  agents,  the 
missionaries,  are  the  best  authorities,  and  that  when  any  man 
contradicts  them  the  burden  of  proof  is  on  him  and  never  on 
them.  Remember  this  and  you  will  be  saved  from  much  anxiety ; 
it  will  enable  you  to  read  the  antimissionary  dispatches  in  the 
morning  papers  with  the  quiet  assurance  that  nine  tenths  of  them 
are  false  and  the  other  tenth  grossly  exaggerated.  I  have  lived  in 
China  for  seventeen  years  and  I  have  rarely  seen  a  special  corre- 
spondent or  a  globe-trotter  who  was  competent  to  criticise  mis- 
sionary work  in  any  real  and  vital  way,  for  the  simple  reason  that 
these  gentlemen  are  not  acquainted  with  the  methods  or  the 
results  of  that  work,  they  do  not  know  the  Christians,  they  rarely 
go  where  most  of  them  are,  the  interior,  and  when  they  do  they 
learn  nothing  at  first  hand  because  of  their  ignorance  of  the 
language.  Do  not  be  troubled  by  these  reports.  If  you  want 
to  hear  missions  criticised  ask  a  missionary  to  do  it. 

A  third  evidence  of  widespread  lack  of  information  is  seen  in 
the  hysterical  methods  sometimes  adopted  to  promote  them.  The 
exploitation   of   the   crisal   theory   of   missions    with    which    the 


THE    NEED   OF    MISSIONARY    INFORMATION  293 

i 

Clinrch  is  periodically  afflicted  is  striking  evidence  of  the  fact  that 
the  Christian  people  do  not  know  as  much  as  they  ought  to  of 
this  work  to  which  they  give  so  much.  What  is  the  crisal  theory? 
It  is  that  view  of  missions  which  finds  in  every  turn  of  the 
calendar  momentous  missionary  issues,  which  sees  in  every  war 
waged  by  one's  country  a  new,  though  a  bloody,  highway  for  the 
Gospel,  which  threatens  missionary  ruin  every  time  a  decrease  is 
found  necessary  in  the  appropriations,  and  which  launches  out 
into  a  veritable  debauch  of  missionary  prediction  if  you  will  only 
give  a  certain  specified  sum  per  annum  to  missions.  I  say  that 
no  men  would  indulge  in  statements  and  appeals  of  that  kind  if 
they  felt  they  were  addressing  an  informed  people.  Here  is  a 
fruitful  theme  for  discussion,  but  I  cannot  discuss  it.  I  will 
simply  say,  an  informed  Church  would  devote  itself  to  missionary 
work  as  an  essential  part  of  its  life.  It  would  need  no  hysterical 
urging  to  induce  it  to  contribute  of  its  substance  to  the  preaching 
of  Christ  to  the  world.  It  would  enter  upon  that  sublime  enter- 
prise with  joy  because  of  its  love  of  God,  its  compassion  for  de- 
prived humanity,  its  own  profound  and  glad  consciousness  of  the 
worth  of  the  Gospel  to  itself.  It  would  accept  the  undertaking  as 
a  high  trust  from  its  Master,  and  would  resolve  to  keep  at  it  till 
the  work  was  done,  no  matter  how  long  the  time  required.  And 
it  would  know  that  it  was  not  to  be  done  in  a  day  or  a  year  or  a 
decade.  No  temporary  defeats  would  discourage  it,  no  predic- 
tions of  impossible  or  improbable  successes  would  be  used  to 
arouse  it.  It  would  look  upon  the  missionary  not  as  the  builder 
of  a  wall,  the  removal  of  a  few  stones  from  which  would  cause 
the  whole  to  crumble,  but  as  the  liberator  of  a  great  spiritual  force 
which  w^ould  work  against  all  opposition  and  which,  while  it 
might  be  checked  for  a  time,  could  never  be  destroyed.  Before 
an  instructed  Church  we  should  never  hear  missionary  speakers  Nobler 
say  that  a  small  cut  in  the  appropriation  threatened  the  life  of  CoMeptions 
our  missions,  reached  to  the  vitals,  and  all  the  rest  of  the  well-  Instructed 
known  calamity  declamation.  Such  a  state  is  fatal  to  our  whole 
missionary  work.  It  is  utterly  discouraging.  If  it  is  true  it  shows 
that  the  work  has  not  been  properly  done,  that  our  missionaries 
have  not  understood  the  nature  of  the  force  with  which  they  have 
been  dealing.  But  it  not  true.  T  have  been  on  the  mission 
field  for  nearly  twenty  years,  and  have  visited  many  of  our 
churches  in  the  Far  East,  and  I  do  not  hesitate  to  say  that  there 


Church 


294  THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 

are  no  Methodist  missions  of  that  kind,  none  so  poorly  founded 
and  so  poorly  conducted  that  a  temporary  reduction  vitally  affects 
them.  If  there  are,  the  thing  to  do  is  not  to  send  them  more 
money,  but  to  recall  the  missionaries,  and  send  men  in  their  places 
who  know  what  missionary  work  is.  The  work  of  past  years  is 
not  imperiled.  A  failure  in  appropriations  hinders,  it  limits  the 
possibilities  of  expansion,  but,  where  the  truth  and  power  of  the 
Gospel  have  been  set  free,  it  can  never  utterly  destroy.  Here,  too, 
ignorance  is  excitement  and  fear;  here  knowledge  means  steadi- 
ness, confidence,  strength. 

Having  now  in  this  summary  fashion  considered  some  of  the 
evidences  of  a  lack  of  missionary  information  among  us,  let  us 
take  up  the  question  how  such  information  may  be  given.  The 
effort  to  answer  it  by  the  society  costs  thousands  of  dollars  a 
year.  That  cannot  be  helped ;  the  money  is  well  spent  when  in- 
formation is  really  disseminated.  Let  us  consider  briefly  some  of 
the  various  agencies  at  our  command,  and  appraise,  if  possible, 
the  value  of  each. 
The  First  in  order  I  place  the  missionary  secretaries.     One  of  the 

Secretaries  chief  duties  of  these  officials  has  hitherto  been  the  spreading  of 
missionary  information.  The  ever-increasing  responsibilities  of 
administration  are  gradually  withdrawing  them  from  that  work 
now,  but  they  still  bear  to  it  a  commanding  relation.  They  have 
unusual  opportunities  for  knowing  what  the  missionaries  are 
doing  and  how  the  great  enterprise  fares.  They  are  in  constant 
correspondence  with  the  missions,  and  the  whole  field  is  ever 
before  them.  They  have  peculiar  opportunities,  therefore,  for 
observing  the  movements  all  along  our  far-extended  mission  line, 
and  should  be  able  to  tell  us  the  place  and  the  meaning  with 
reference  to  the  whole  of  the  somewhat  bewildering  details  of 
which  we  learn  elsewhere.  This,  I  think,  is  the  chief  function  of 
the  secretarial  office  in  the  dissemination  of  missionary  informa- 
tion, and  I  should  like  to  see  the  corresponding  secretaries  issue, 
every  year,  a  carefully  written  report  giving  a  survey  of  the  whole 
field,  showing  us  in  outline  what  has  happened,  properly  corre- 
lating the  scattered  details,  and  showing  us  the  bearing  on  the 
great  enterprise  of  all  the  leading  movements,  political  and  com- 
mercial, of  the  time.  Such  a  report,  if  thoroughly  prepared, 
couched  in  temperate  language,  carefully  guarded  against  over- 
statement, hyperoptimism,  and  all  claims  to  omniscience,  would 


THE    NEED   OF    MISSIONARY    INFORMATION  295 

i 

be  widely  read  by  the  people,  and  would,  I  am  confident,  exercise 
an  immense  and  favorable  influence  for  the  missionary  propa- 
ganda throughout  the  whole  Church. 

The  Bishops.  These  great  leaders  of  the  Church  might  take  a  The 
great  part,  very  much  greater  than  they  do,  in  this  work  of  dis-  *'P"''°P**^ 
seminating  missionary  information.  Most  of  them  have  visited 
our  mission  fields,  they  have  seen  things  for  themselves,  the  people 
crowd  to  hear  them,  their  words  are  listened  to.  At  the  Con- 
ferences they  speak  to  immense  audiences  in  which  are  gathered 
the  leaders  of  the  Church,  both  clerical  and  lay.  I  should  like  to 
see  a  bishop  give  up  a  Sunday  morning  service  to  a  survey  of  the 
missions  which  he  has  seen  on  an  episcopal  visit  abroad.  What 
an  inspiration  it  would  be,  and  with  what  authority  it  would  come 
from  a  man  in  his  position !  He  could  point  out  the  progress  of 
the  kingdom,  the  obstacles  that  oppose  it,  the  significance  in  rela- 
tion to  missionary  work  of  some  of  the  great  political  movements 
of  the  time.  I  am  sure  that  sometimes  an  address  of  that  kind 
would  be  more  profitable  than  some  of  the  sermons  we  hear  at 
Conference,  which,  however  eloquent,  are  too  often  speculative 
and  needless  defenses  of  Christianity,  the  magnificent  spectacular 
knocking  down  of  straw  men  with  all  the  pomp  and  circumstance 
of  glorious  war.  Venerable  fathers  of  the  Church,  tell  us  from 
your  high  places,  from  your  Sunday  morning  pulpits,  how  fares 
the  great  enterprise  abroad,  how  the  glorious  fabric  rises.  Show 
us  the  builders  on  the  walls,  the  enemy  around,  the  suspense,  the 
struggle,  the  occasional  defeat,  the  frequent  victory.  Give  us  big 
things  to  think  of,  great  things  to  do,  grand  results  to  hope  for. 

The  Official  Press.  It  is  dangerous  to  complain  of  an  editor,  The 
for  he  always  has  it  in  his  power  to  strike  back  terribly.  Yet  I  p/g*gg°  ^^^ 
am  running  no  risk  in  this  case,  for  the  editors  of  our  Advocates 
are  reasonable  men,  and  will  bear  with  me  while  I  tell  them  of 
the  faults  of  some  of  their  number.  They  are  not  all  equally  at 
fault ;  indeed,  a  few  of  them  are  unimpeachable.  Some  of  them, 
however,  have  not  always  treated  the  missionary  enterprises  of 
our  Church  fairly,  they  have  not  always  given  them  their  propor- 
tionate share  of  editorial  attention.  They  have  printed  missionary 
news,  but  it  has  too  often  been  disjointed  and  scrappy,  or  been 
pushed  off  into  some  out-of-the-way  corner  where  one  looked  for 
nothing  but  advertisements.  Serious  editorial  discussion  of  mis- 
sions they  seldom  have.     They  have  mission  paragraphs,  but 


296 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


A  Subject  of 
the  Greatest 
Importance 


Sytapathy 
and  Breadth 
of  Vision 


they  give  us  no  such  thoroughgoing  interest-compelhng  editorials 
as  are  given  to  the  constitution,  to  some  detail  of  ecclesiastical 
procedure,  to  an  unfortunate  heretic,  to  some  religious,  theolog- 
ical, or  ecclesiastical  extravagance.  And  yet  missions  are  among 
the  greatest  subjects  of  the  time.  Beyond  the  seas  a  Methodism 
is  growing  which  will  one  day  surprise  us,  but  it  will  come  upon 
us  unawares,  for  the  watchers  on  the  walls,  the  editors  of  our 
official  papers,  have  not  always  kept  us  informed. 

And  yet  no  subject  can  be  of  greater  importance  in  the  long 
run.  The  cause  of  missions  is  the  cause  of  civilization  abroad. 
The  only  hope  for  the  permanent  moral  regeneration  of  the  non- 
Christian  peoples  of  the  world  is  in  their  acceptance  of  Christ  as 
Master,  and  the  teaching  of  Christ  as  the  rule  of  life.  "What 
think  ye  of  Christ?"  is  the  most  momentous  of  all  questions,  and 
by  the  answer  to  it,  whatever  else  a  people  have  or  lack,  shall 
their  destiny  be  ordered.  The  work  whose  only  object  is  the 
training  of  the  nations  to  answer  it  aright  is  a  subject  of  infinite 
importance.  Every  interest  of  the  non-Christian  world,  educa- 
tion, philanthropy,  commerce,  in  a  word,  civilization  itself,  is 
bound  up  with  it.  The  man  who  utters  a  careless  criticism  of 
missions  is  a  traitor  to  the  best  interests  of  mankind.  The 
Church  editor  who  neglects  it,  who  is  so  lacking  in  knowledge 
that  he  does  not  see  its  place  in  the  present,  or  who  is  so  wanting 
in  perspective  that  he  does  not  see  its  place  in  the  future,  is  not 
equal  to  the  demands  of  the  great  position  which  he  holds. 

While  saying  this,  however,  it  is  a  pleasure  to  admit  the  very 
great  improvement  in  the  treatment  of  missions  noticeable  in  the 
last  few  years  in  most  of  our  official  papers.  The  great  subject 
is  treated  with  a  sympathy  and  breadth  of  vision  which  until 
recently  have  been  conspicuously  absent.  More  space  and  more 
prominence  are  given  to  missionary  news  and  to  discussions  of 
missionary  subjects.  The  very  full  interviews  with  bishops  re- 
turning from  their  fields  which  have  recently  appeared  are 
the  promise  and  the  pledge  of  much  better  things  still  to  come. 
The  men  who  guide  the  policies  of  our  official  press  wield  an 
immense  influence.  It  is  in  their  power  to  lift  the  whole  subject 
of  missions  to  a  higher  plane  of  thought  and  efifort  than  it  has 
ever  yet  occupied.  By  the  place  which  they  give  it  in  their  papers, 
by  the  fullness  and  seriousness  with  which  they  treat  it  editorially, 
they  can  redeem  it  from  what,  in  too  many  places  it  is  now,  a 


THE    NEED   OF    MISSIONARY    INFORMATION 


297 


mere  generous  outlet  for  the  kindly  energies  of  some  gentle  souls, 
and  press  it  home  upon  the  Church  for  what  it  really  is — the  very 
object  and  reason  of  her  own  existence. 

Missionary  Literature.  Time  forbids  more  than  a  brief  refer- 
ence to  this  large  subject.  We  need  a  first-class  missionary 
periodical,  one  which  shall  do  for  us  what  that  greatest  of  Prot- 
estant missionary  periodicals,  The  Church  Missionary  Intelli- 
gencer, does  for  the  Church  Missionary  Society  of  England.  The 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  has  never  had  a  missionary  maga- 
zine really  worthy  of  its  work.  The  object  of  such  a  periodical 
should  be  to  keep  us  informed,  to  show  us  what  is  being  done,  to 
keep  us  in  touch  with  those  who  are  doing  it,  to  interest  us  not 
merely  in  the  victory,  but  in  the  fight,  to  make  us  spectators  of 
the  whole  grand  struggle.  There  should  be  a  full  and  intelligent 
treatment  of  every  influence  which  afifects  in  any  way  the  great 
enterprise.  Political  movements,  commercial  expansion,  every- 
thing that  tends,  in  any  large  way,  to  afifect  the  future  prospects 
of  the  people  among  whom  missionaries  are  working,  should  be 
noted  and  carefully  watched.  The  reader  should  be  helped  to 
see  things  aright,  and  in  all  their  bearings.  Such  a  periodical 
would  be  read,  for  its  news  would  be  vital,  of  profound  interest, 
of  vast  importance. 

Of  course,  other  kinds  of  literature  are  needed.  The  effort  of 
the  Epworth  League  to  introduce  the  best  missionary  literature 
to  its  members  is  to  be  commended  and  should  everywhere  be 
seconded.  We  are  not  doing  what  we  ought  and  what  we  might 
toward  providing  interesting  missionary  reading  for  the  young. 
What  we  do  issue  is  not  of  a  kind  suited  to  appeal  to  the  vigorous 
and  full-lived  youth  of  to-day.  It  is  too  pale,  too  characterless, 
too  remote  in  its  interest,  too  much  like  a  message  from  fairy- 
land to  be  listened  to  by  this  practical,  strenuous  world.  In  thus 
failing  to  interest  the  young  we  are  making  a  serious  mistake. 
We  are  living  as  if  there  were  no  to-morrow,  as  if  all  missionary 
effort  would  end  with  the  adults  of  to-day. 

In  all  this  we  of  the  "parent  board"  have  much  to  learn,  but  it 
is  not  necessary  to  travel  far  to  find  a  teacher.  We  have  one 
near  us,  we  have  one  with  us ;  she  is  our  own  sister,  the  Woman's 
Foreign  Missionary  Society  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
with  whose  missionary  periodical,  the  IVonian's  Missionary 
Friend,  we  have  nothing  that  can  be  compared  for  a  moment. 


A  strong 
Magazine 
Needed 


Other 
Literature 


298 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


The  Beal 

Source 

of  Our 

Knowledge 

about 

Missions 


How  to  Use 

the 

Missionary 


A  Great 
English 
Society 


The  Missionaries.  But  little  is  needed  to  show  how  peculiarly 
fitted  for  supplying  the  Church's  need  of  information  is  the 
missionary.  In  him  we  have  the  real  source  of  all  our  knowledge 
about  missions,  and  an  agency  for  its  diffusion  which  our  Mis- 
sionary Society  has  never  even  measurably  used.  All  sorts  of 
strange  things,  some  of  which  are  true,  are  said  about  mission- 
aries as  speakers.  The  chief  charge  is  that  they  are  not  interesting 
and  cannot  address  great  audiences.  That  is  indeed  true  of  most 
of  us,  but  we  have  one  thing  which  no  others  have,  we  have 
direct,  personal,  intimate  knowledge  of  missionary  work,  the  field, 
the  methods,  the  results.  Few  of  us  can  address  great  assemblies, 
few  of  any  class  can,  but  the  big  things  of  the  world  are  not  done 
in  great  assemblies.  Most  such  gatherings  amount  to  nothing, 
and  are  nothing  but  an  opportunity  for  display,  and  for  relieving 
the  fussiness  with  which  the  Protestant  Churches  of  America 
seem  more  and  more,  as  times  goes  on,  to  be  afflicted. 

Use  the  missionary  aright  and  he  will  be  found  the  freshest, 
the  best  disseminator  of  missionary  intelligence  that  you  have. 
Don't  keep  him  on  the  field  till  he  is  nearly  dead  and  then  expect 
him  to  do  anything  at  home.  Bring  him  home  while  still  in 
health  to  meet  his  supporters,  to  tell  the  freshest  news  with  the 
living  voice  of  the  man  who  does  the  work  for  which  all  this 
missionary  money  is  given.  The  man  from  the  front,  unless  an 
incorrigible  dunce,  or  addressing  an  audience  which  cares  more 
for  fine  words  than  for  fine  deeds,  will  be  more  interesting  to  the 
people  than  any  man  who  looks  at  the  fray  through  the  blinding 
distance  of  ten  thousand  miles. 

Use  the  missionaries  systematically.  Let  itineraries  be  ar- 
ranged for  them  by  the  proper  authorities  after  correspondence 
with  the  churches.  Let  there  be  an  organized  system  of  deputa- 
tion work,  and  the  results,  I  believe,  will  be  immeasurable.  They 
will  not  stir  up  excitement,  but  they  will  diffuse  intelligence,  they 
will  in  themselves  be  a  bond  that  will  unite  the  missions  abroad 
and  their  friends  at  home  as  nothing  else  can. 

All  this  is  not  mere  theorizing  about  a  hitherto  somewhat  de- 
spised agency.  The  greatest  Protestant  missionary  society  in  the 
world,  the  Church  Missionary  Society  of  England,  makes  its 
appeals  to  the  churches  almost  entirely  through  its  missionaries, 
and  no  other  society  has  so  much  money,  no  other  has  so  many 
missionaries  who  support  themselves,  no  other  receives  so  many 


THE   NEED  OF   MISSIONARY   INFORMATION 


299 


offers  of  service  when  an  emergency  arises.  I  remember  well  the 
awful  massacre  at  Hua  Shan,  China,  in  the  fall  of  1895.  Nine 
missionaries  w-ere  killed,  a  w^hole  mission  was  wiped  out.  The 
great  society  to  which  they  belonged  made  no  demands  for  re- 
dress, but  appealed  for  volunteers  to  enter  the  field,  and  in  a  few 
weeks,  from  every  part  of  the  British  empire,  came  offers  of  men 
and  women  for  the  dangerous  service.  The  once  afflicted  mission 
is  now  larger  and  more  prosperous  than  it  ever  was.  It  is 
strangely  cosmopolitan  in  its  make-up.  The  head  of  it  is  the  son 
of  a  Canadian  judge,  and  his  coworkers  are  men  and  women 
from  many  of  the  far-spreading  colonies  of  England.  Such  is 
the  reward  that  comes  to  a  society  which  makes  it  part  of  its 
business  to  keep  the  missions  abroad  and  their  supporters  at 
home  in  the  closest  possible  connection. 

In  the  missionaries  of  our  Church,  if  brought  home  before  they 
are  broken  in  health,  we  have  as  efficient  a  force  for  the  diffusion 
of  intelligence  as  is  possessed  by  any  other  body  in  the  world. 
Let  us  use  it.  Let  us  use  it  wisely.  Don't  ahvays  take  a  collection 
when  you  have  a  missionary  speak.  Bring  him  to  your  church  to 
impart  knowledge,  to  show  your  people  what  is  being  done  with 
their  money.  Don't  turn  him  into  a  scarecrow  by  taking  a  mis- 
sionary collection  every  time  he  opens  his  lips  in  your  pulpit. 
Treat  the  missionary  as  you  would  treat  any  other  minister.  Let 
him  speak  in  your  church  without  making  the  people  feel  that 
they  must  pay  to  hear  him.  Use  the  missionary,  but  don't  abuse 
him.  Don't  insult  the  sublime  cause  which  he  represents  by 
treating  him  as  a  cheap  sort  of  ecclesiastical  showman.  Some 
years  ago,  in  going  to  a  church  at  which  the  late  beloved  and 
lamented  Dr.  S.  L.  Baldwin  and  myself  were  to  speak,  I  saw  in 
the  shop  windows  great  posters  announcing  the  meeting  as  fol- 
lows :  "Great  missionary  meeting  at  such  and  such  a  church 
to-night.  Two  distinguished  missionaries.  Hairbreadth  escapes, 
thrilling  adventures,  bloodthirsty  scenes.  Everybody  come."  I 
did  not  wonder  on  reaching  the  church  to  find  it  crowded  to  the 
doors,  and  neither  did  I  wonder  w^ien  the  good  brother  wdio  at 
the  pastor's  request  made  the  opening  prayer  closed  it  with  these 
words:  "And  now,  O  Lord,  when  all  our  work  is  done  take  us 
to  heaven,  where  there  are  no  missionaries,  nothing  to  mar  our 
peace." 

I  have  kept  to  the  last  the  most  important  agent  of  all,  the 


A  Force 
for  the 
Diffasion  of 
IntelligeQce 


30O 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


The  Most 

Important 

Agent 


More 
Profound 
Conviction 
Needed 


greatest  man  in  Methodism,  the  pastor.  Bishops  may  deliver 
magnificent  addresses,  editors  may  write,  and  missionaries  and 
missionary  secretaries  may  do  what  they  please,  but  unless  the 
pastor  is  interested  they  will  accomplish  nothing.  The  diffusion 
of  intelligence,  by  whatever  method,  cannot  be  effected  without 
his  cooperation.  He  is  the  chief  factor  in  the  problem,  the  great 
diffuser  of  knowledge  and  inspiration,  the  man  on  whose  fidelity 
success  abroad  as  well  as  at  home  depends.  If  he  is  opposed  to 
missions,  or  if  he  is  not  interested,  missionaries  will  not  be  in- 
vited, missionary  meetings  will  not  be  attended,  missionary 
periodicals  will  not  be  read.  Any  program,  therefore,  which  does 
not  give  him  the  chief  place  is  certain  to  fail. 

In  view  of  this  it  is  surely  not  too  much  to  expect  that  every 
pastor  in  Alethodism  will  know  what  his  own  Church  is  doing  on 
the  mission  field.  This  is  no  less  his  privilege  than  his  duty. 
And,  knowing,  he  ought  to  have  his  people  know ;  he  should 
keep  steadily  before  them  the  redemption  of  the  whole  world  as 
the  great  object  of  Christian  endeavor;  he  should  help  every 
member  of  his  church  to  feel  the  inspiration  that  comes  from 
the  consciousness  of  sharing  in  this  splendid  work.  Many 
a  little  church  would  be  made  big  if  it  had  big  things  to 
think  about ;  many  a  small  task  would  be  ennobled  if  seen 
to  be  related  to  the  sublime  purpose  of  the  redemption  of  the 
world. 

I  do  not  think  that  I  am  slandering  my  brethren  of  the  ministry 
when  I  say  that  many  of  them  do  not  seem  to  be  profoundly 
impressed  with  this  responsibility  of  theirs  for  missionary  suc- 
cesses. They  preach  on  missions  once  a  year  and  then  drop  them 
for  a  year.  Many  never  refer  to  them  at  any  other  time;  they 
devote  no  prayer  meetings  to  their  consideration,  and  do  not  see 
that  in  the  Epworth  League  and  in  the  Sunday  school  they  receive 
proper  and  proportionate  attention.  One  would  think  from  the 
paucity  of  their  references  to  missions  that  the  subject  was  one 
of  minor  importance;  no  one  would  dream  from  their  attitude 
that  it  was  one  of  the  great  subjects  of  the  day,  a  cause  of 
anxiety  to  statesmen,  the  chief  object  of  attack  for  unscrupulous 
globe-trotters,  a  subject  of  contempt  to  the  ignorant  and  the 
philosophers,  a  subject  of  immense  moment  to  many  great  and 
populous  nations,  matter  of  infinite  concern  to  devout  Christians 
everywhere,  matter  of  such  importance  to  Jesus,  the  Master  and 


YOUNG    PEOPLE    AND   SCRIPTURAL    GIVING 


301 


Lord,  that  lie  died  to  make  them  successful.  Let  our  pastors  then 
observe  in  their  preaching  a  better  rule  of  proportion,  distribute 
their  missionary  sermons  throughout  the  year ;  let  them  show- 
that  the  redemption  of  the  majority  of  the  race  deserves  more 
than  one  fifty-second  of  our  Sundays  for  its  consideration.  They 
need  not  always  connect  it  with  money,  but  they  should  preach 
on  it,  spread  knowledge,  increase  interest,  and  fill  every  soul  in 
their  congregation  with  the  grandeur  of  the  glorious  enterprise. 
Then  there  will  be  no  need  of  conventions,  no  need  of  wandering 
secretaries,  no  need  of  hysterical  appeals,  no  overstatement,  no 
ephemeral  excitement;  for  the  whole  Church,  in  sympathy  with 
the  motive,  will  accept  the  evangelization  of  the  world  as  one  of 
its  chief  duties,  will  accept  gladly  all  that  that  duty  implies,  will 
be  prepared  for  defeats,  will  not  be  surprised  at  victories,  and 
will  be  resolved  to  go  on,  whether  the  time  be  long  or  short, 
whether  the  work  be  difficult  or  easy,  till  the  end. 


A  Better 
Rule  of 
Proportion 


THE    EDUCATION   AND    TRAINING   OF 

YOUNG    PEOPLE    IN    SCRIPTURAL 

HABITS    OF   GIVING 

The    Rev.    Charles    Edward    Locke,  D.D. 

Giving  is  living:   it  is  a  law  of  growth  and  order.    It  prevails   a  Law  of 
in  the  physical  universe,  and  in  the  social  world  is  the  "Open   ^^^® 
Sesame"  which  is  establishing  universal  reciprocity  and  brother- 
hood.    In  morals  and  religion  it  is  the  shibboleth  which  admits 
us  to  the  fairest  privileges  of  an  ever-widening  existence.    "There 
is  that  scattereth  yet  increaseth." 

In  giving  man's  capacity  for  receiving  and  being  enlarges.    If 
we  would  get  we  must  give.    Whittier  sings : 

"  Hands  that  ope  but  to  receive 
Empty  close  ;  they  only  live 
Richly  who  can  richly  give." 


Avarice  atrophies,  Generosity 


"It  blesses  him  that  gives  and   37'^*'*^ 


The  miser's  greatest  sin  is  against  himself 
but  generosity  is  twice  blessed 

him  that  takes ;"  but  the  larger  joy  is  to  him  that  gives.  Happi- 
ness, activity,  selfhood,  and  purpose  are  bound  up  in  giving — 
giving  freely.     The  Nazarene  Carpenter  stated  a  deep  principle 


302 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


of  true  character  and  happy  Hving  when  he  said,  "It  is  more 
blessed  to  give  than  to  receive." 

"  The  secret  of  life — it  is  giving, 

To  minister  and  to  serve  ; 
Love's  law  binds  man  to  the  angel, 

And  ruin  befalls  if  we  swerve. 


The 

Acceptance  of 
Heavenly 
Gifts 


Clear 
Consecration 


"  To  illumine  the  scroll  of  creation. 

One  swift,  sudden  vision  sufficed  ; 
Every  riddle  of  life  worth  the  reading 

Has  found  its  interpreter — Christ." 

In  the  education  and  training  of  young  people  in  scriptural 
habits  of  giving  it  should  first  of  all  be  emphasized  that,  as  the 
whole  Christian  system  rests  upon  God  incarnate  in  Christ,  so 
is  all  personal  Christian  character  based  upon  Christ.  Our  young 
people  must  be  led  to  accept  all  heavenly  gifts;  such  as  "faith, 
the  gift  of  God,"  "the  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost;"  "the  gift  of 
God,  which  is  eternal  life ;"  and  "the  gift  of  Jesus  Christ,"  for 
"God  so  loved  the  world,  that  he  gave  his  only  begotten  Son." 
"Thanks  be  unto  God  for  his  unspeakable  gift!"  We  should 
follow  the  example  of  our  imperial  apostle  who  exhorts  the  young 
man  Timothy,  "Neglect  not  the  gift  that  is  in  thee."  With  in- 
finite tenderness  and  justice,  in  writing  to  his  son  in  the  Gospel, 
Paul  says,  "I  call  to  remembrance  the  unfeigned  faith  that  is  in 
thee,  which  dwelt  first  in  thy  grandmother  Lois,  and  thy  mother 
Eunice;  and  I  am  persuaded  that  in  thee  also."  The  youth  of 
this  twentieth  century's  dawning  are  the  sons  and  daughters  and 
the  grandsons  and  granddaughters  of  the  most  majestic  ancestry 
the  world  has  seen — a  heroism  that  could  found  a  republic  and 
free  the  slave,  and  make  the  nineteenth  century  the  greatest  period 
of  missionary  achievement  since  the  resurrection  of  Christ.  To 
our  youth  have  been  bequeathed  colossal  tasks,  but  they  have 
also  inherited  extraordinary  gifts ;  and  they  must  be  persistently 
"put  in  remembrance  that  they  stir  up  the  gift  of  God  which  is 
in  them." 

Hence,  if  we  would  instruct  the  youth  in  giving  they  must  be 
persuaded  to  accept  the  Giver.  In  clear,  definite  consecration 
they  must  ofifer  themselves  to  his  service,  and  receive  in  their 
own  hearts  the  personal  assurance  that  "the  Spirit  of  God  wit- 
nesseth  with  their  spirits  that  they  are  the  children  of  God,"  so 


YOUNG   PEOPLE   AND   SCRIPTURAL   GIVING  303 

i 

that  with  tearful  joy  they  will  go  singing  amid  their  labors  dear 
Doctor  Hunter's  immortal  song: 

"  There  is  a  spot  to  me  more  dear 

Than  native  vale  or  mountain  ; 
A  spot  for  which  affection's  tear 

Springs  grateful  from  its  fountain. 
O  hallowed  spot  !   O  sacred  hour ! 

Where  love  divine  first  found  me. 
Wherever  falls  my  distant  lot 

My  heart  shall  linger  round  thee. 
And  when  from  earth  I  rise  to  soar 

Up  to  my  home  in  heaven, 
Down  will  I  cast  mine  eyes  once  more. 

Where  I  was  first  forgiven." 

With  hearts  illuminated  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  they  will  be  prepared 
to  study  God's  word  in  order  to  find  direction  concerning  "scrip- 
tural habits  of  giving." 

In  their  education  on  the  subject  of  giving,  the  young  people  Definite 
should  receive  definite  instruction.  They  are  accustomed  to  Instruction 
definite  instruction  in  the  public  school  and  college ;  mathematics, 
chemistry,  and  history  state  propositions  and  problems  and  de- 
mand demonstrations  and  exact  results.  The  youthful  mind  is 
trained  in  the  habit  of  striving  to  pursue  a  positive  path,  however 
tortuous  or  difficult.  So,  in  the  Sunday  school  the  youth  are 
taught  definite  knowledge  concerning  Bible  history,  the  doctrines 
of  sin  and  salvation,  and  the  divine  person  of  Jesus  Christ.  But 
our  disastrous  blunder  in  the  past  has  been  that  when  we  reach 
the  momentous  question  of  giving  to  the  Lord  we  have  blunted 
the  edge  of  expectation  of  the  youth  who  has  just  come  from  an 
enchanting  reading  of  the  Old  Testament,  by  saying,  "O,  give 
according  to  your  ability."  Suppose  he  was  turned  away  by  his 
teacher  in  algebra,  or  geometry,  when  he  inquired  concerning  a 
difficult  equation,  or  a  perplexing  theorem,  with  the  words,  "O, 
solve  it  to  the  best  of  your  ability,"  how  many  mathematicians 
would  come  out  of  our  schools,  think  you? 

Is  there  definite  direction  in  the  Scriptures  concerning  giving?   old 
Unquestionably  there  is,  and  "he  who  runs  may  read."     Shall  we   ^^t*^"ft°* 
confine  ourselves  only  to  the  New  Testament  in  pursuing  this 
investigation?    Why  should  we?    We  go  back  to  the  Old  Testa- 
ment for  the  Decalogue,  for  instruction  concerning  the  atonement, 
for  the  radiant  eloquence  of  Isaiah,   for  the   fervent   songs  of 


304 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


Two  Great 
Principles 


Robbing  God 


David,  and  for  incontrovertible  arguments  for  a  personal  God; 
and,  moreover,  it  was  to  the  Old  Testament  that  Paul  referred 
when  he  urged  Timothy  to  continue  in  the  study  of  the  Holy 
Scriptures,  which  are  "given  by  the  inspiration  of  God  and  are 
profitable  for  instruction  in  righteousness." 

There  are  two  great  principles  for  supporting  the  cause  of  God 
enunciated  in  the  Bible.  The  first  of  these  is  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, and  it  is,  "The  tithe  is  the  Lord's."  Five  hundred  years 
after  Abraham  had  presented  tithes  to  Melchizedek,  the  mys- 
terious king  of  Salem,  Moses  was  inspired  to  frame  this  exact 
law  for  Israel :  "All  the  tithe  of  the  land,  whether  of  the  seed  of 
the  land,  or  of  the  fruit  of  the  tree,  is  the  Lord's :  it  is  holy  unto 
the  Lord.  .  .  .  And  concerning  the  tithe  of  the  herd,  or  of  the 
flock,  even  of  whatsoever  passeth  under  the  rod,  the  tenth  shall 
be  holy  unto  the  Lord"  (Lev.  xxvii,  30-32).  The  tenth  thus 
received  was  in  turn  appropriated  to  the  house  of  Levi  for  the 
support  of  public  worship,  as  the  children  of  Levi  were  without 
an  inheritance  and  were  assigned  to  the  service  of  the  tabernacle ; 
and  the  Levites  were  themselves  required  to  give  a  tenth  of  the 
tithes  which  they  received  from  the  people.  Later,  when  the  good 
King  Hezekiah  came  to  the  throne  of  his  wicked  father  Ahaz,  he 
cleansed  the  temple,  and  reinstituted  the  religious  rites  and  cere- 
monies; and  it  is  stated,  "The  tithes  of  all  things  brought  they 
in  abundantly"  (2  Chron.  xxxi,  5).  Again,  when  the  gallant 
cupbearer,  Nehemiah,  had  rebuilt  the  walls  of  Jerusalem  and 
restored  the  religious  customs  of  the  people,  "Then  brought  all 
Judah  the  tithe  of  the  corn  and  the  new  wine  and  the  oil  unto 
the  treasuries"  (Neh.  xiii,  12).  Among  the  Jews  it  was  recog- 
nized that  the  tenth  belonged  to  God.  His  giving  could  not 
commence  until  his  tenth  had  been  paid.  In  addition  to  the  tithe 
which  he  paid,  the  faithful  Jew  also  gave  for  the  support  of  the 
annual  feasts  and  for  the  poor,  and  was  liberal  in  his  freewill 
and  trespass  offerings. 

Finally,  the  Old  Testament  Scriptures  close  with  a  most 
startling  presentation  of  this  great  theme.  With  the  severity  and 
directness  of  a  prophet  of  God,  Malachi  seeks  to  arouse  a  lethargic 
people  from  their  indifference :  "Will  a  man  rob  God  ?  Yet  ye 
have  robbed  me.  But  ye  say.  Wherein  have  we  robbed  thee?  In 
tithes  and  offerings.  Ye  are  cursed  with  a  curse :  for  ye  have 
robbed  me,  even  this  whole  nation.     Bring  ye  all  the  tithes  into 


Testament 
Fulfillment 


YOUNG   PEOPLE   AND   SCRIPTURAL   GIVING  305 

i 

the  storehouse,  that  there  may  be  meat  in  mine  house."  This 
closing  utterance  of  the  Old  Testament  is  like  another  rending 
of  Sinai.  The  Father  commences  to  inculcate  the  doctrine  and 
duty  of  the  tithe  in  Genesis  through  Melchizedek  and  Jacob ;  it 
runs  with  unmistakable  and  unbroken  continuity  throughout  the 
entire  Old  Testament,  until,  in  the  closing  book,  in  tones  of 
thunder  an  offended  and  forsaken  God  calls  his  wandering  chil- 
dren to  a  just  account;  then  his  wrath  passes  away,  and  wdth  the 
tenderness  of  a  mother's  voice  his  promises  of  overwhelming 
mercies  fall  in  sweetest  cadences  upon  our  souls ! 

When  we  reach  the  New  Testament  we  find  that  the  law  of  the  New 
tithe  has  not  been  abrogated,  for  we  hear  Jesus  saying  in  the 
Sermon  on  the  Mount,  "Think  not  that  I  am  come  to  destroy  the 
law,  or  the  prophets:  I  am  not  come  to  destroy,  but  to  fulhll. 
For  verily  I  say  unto  you,  Till  heaven  and  earth  pass,  one  jot  or 
one  tittle  shall  in  no  wise  pass  from  the  law,  till  all  be  fulfilled" 
(Matt,  V,  17,  18).  It  is  beyond  credence  that  Christ  would  speak 
so  minutely  concerning  the  law  as  that  not  the  slightest  punctua- 
tion point  shall  be  omitted,  and  not  include  a  great  law  and  custom 
upon  which  the  maintaining  of  the  worship  of  the  temple  and 
ancient  tabernacle  depended.  But  if  some  are  seeking  for  ex- 
plicit command  concerning  the  Christian  duty  of  tithing  they  can 
find  it  unequivocally  given  in  the  words  of  our  Lord :  "Woe 
unto  you,  scribes  and  Pharisees,  hypocrites !  for  ye  pay  tithe  of 
mint  and  anise  and  cumin,  and  have  omitted  the  weightier  matters 
of  the  law,  judgment,  mercy,  and  faith :  these  ought  ye  to  have 
done,  and  not  to  leave  the  other  undone"  (Matt,  xxiii,  2^). 

There  is  a  picturesque  corroborative  argument  to  these  words  A 
of  Jesus  given  by  the  unknown  writer  of  the  book  of  Hebrews,  Corroborative 
where  in  the  seventh  chapter  he  compares  the  quaint  character 
of  Melchizedek  with  our  Master.  He  recalls  and  emphasizes  in 
six  different  clauses  the  giving  of  tithes  by  Abraham  to  the  king 
of  Salem,  and  then  speaks  of  "another  priest"  who  has  arisen,  but 
who  shall  be  a  priest  forever  after  the  order  of  Melchizedek. 
The  logical  conclusion  is  unavoidable,  that  if  the  paying  of  tithes 
was  approved  in  Abraham  as  he  offered  his  homage  to  the  first 
Melchizedek,  so  the  giving  of  the  tenth  would  be  part  of  the 
humble  service  to  be  rendered  to  that  greater  King  of  Peace,  who 
shall  be  "a  Priest  forever." 

The  second  of  the  two  great  principles  for  the  support  of  the 
20 


3o6 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


As  God  Hath 
t^ospered 


Higher 
Achievements 


A  Jewish 
Convert  and 
the  Tithe 


Lamentable 
Besults 


cause  of  God  is  found  in  the  New  Testament  clause,  "Lay  by  in 
store  as  God  hath  prospered  you."  This  teaching  manifestly  does 
not  annul  the  doctrine  of  the  tithe.  It  is  our  contention  that  the 
precise  and  emphatic  Old  Testament  instruction  concerning  the 
tenth  was  accepted  and  practiced  by  the  Christians  of  Paul's 
time;  and  that  after  paying  their  tithe  unto  the  Lord,  a  just  obli- 
gation which  each  would  acknowledge,  then  his  giving  would 
commence.  It  was  from  their  freewill  gifts,  after  the  tenth  had 
been  paid,  that  they  supported  the  general  work  which  Paul  was 
now  conducting.  The  money  that  they  were  to  "lay  by  in  store" 
was  for  Paul's  missionary  work,  that  "there  be  no  gatherings 
when  I  come,"  and  was  in  addition  to  their  offerings  for  the 
support  of  the  church  in  Corinth. 

The  New  Testament  principle  of  giving  stands  upon  the 
shoulders  of  the  Old  Testament  doctrine  of  paying,  and  reaches 
toward  the  higher  achievements  of  the  reign  of  Christ  Emmanuel. 
The  new  commandment,  "Love  one  another  as  I  have  loved  you," 
does  not  controvert  the  Decalogue — it  is  the  blossom  and  product 
of  Sinai's  great  utterances.  So  giving  "according  to  our  ability," 
and  "as  God  has  prospered  us,"  points  out  to  the  Christian  the 
lofty  altitudes  of  generous  giving  to  which  he  may  come,  after 
he  has  discharged  his  honest  debt  as  a  faithful  steward,  in  paying 
to  God  the  tenth.  The  tenth  is  interest  on  the  capital  which  has 
been  loaned  to  us,  and  must  be  paid  back  before  we  can  commence 
to  give.    We  must  be  just  before  we  are  generous ! 

Let  us  imagine  a  case.  Suppose  a  faithful  Jew  had  become  a 
convert  to  Christianity.  As  a  Jew  he  was  accustomed  to  paying 
his  tithe.  When  on  that  first  Sabbath  after  his  conversion  he 
assembled  with  the  Christians  and  brought  his  offering  to  God, 
can  anyone  believe  that  this  converted  Jew  would  attempt  to 
justify  himself  in  giving  less  than  he  had  given  when  he  was  a 
Jew?  Would  not  his  natural  impulse  be  to  add  as  much  more  to 
his  oflfering  as  he  felt  the  new  religion  to  be  more  valuable  to  him 
than  the  old  ?  Certainly  he  would  not  give  less  when  his  blessings 
were  more ! 

As  a  lamentable  result  of  a  failure  to  preach  the  scriptural 
doctrine  of  the  tithe,  it  has  been  computed  that,  while  the  Church 
owns  one  fifth  of  the  wealth  of  the  United  States,  only  one  six- 
teenth of  one  per  cent  is  given  for  evangelizing  the  heathen  world. 
LInder  a  mistaken  idea  that  "giving  as  God  hath  prospered"  was 


YOUNG    PEOPLE    AND    SCRIPTURAL    GIVING 


307 


a  loftier  basis  of  supporting  the  kingdom  than  the  scriptural  doc- 
trine of  the  tenth,  the  Christian  Church  is  giving  immeasurably 
less  than  the  ancient  Jews  ;  and  every  interest  of  Christ's  kingdom 
is  embarrassed  for  want  of  funds.  "By  their  fruits  ye  shall  know 
them"  is  our  invincible  dictum  as  Christians.  In  the  face  of 
failure,  and  depleted  treasuries,  and  crippled  enterprises,  is  it  not 
time  for  us  to  ascend  from  our  easy,  theoretical,  slothful,  and 
sometimes  vociferous  levels  of  "according  to  your  ability,"  and 
come  up  to  the  definite,  just,  honorable,  and  practical  purpose  of 
paying  our  tithes  unto  the  Lord? 

Let  us  train  our  young  people  into  exact,  businesslike  methods 
of  caring  for  the  kingdom,  and  not  withhold  from  them  the  truth 
taught  in  the  Scriptures  concerning  definite  and  systematic  giv- 
ing !  Let  us  cease  desecrating  the  courts  of  the  Lord's  house,  and 
in  some  cases,  I  fear,  even  the  holy  precincts  of  the  sanctuary, 
with  such  questionable  expedients  as  fairs  and  suppers,  to  make 
up  for  deficiences  which  have  accrued  because  God's  people  are 
withholding  even  their  tenth. 

Buddhism  and  Mohammedanism  build  their  pagodas  of  jasper 
and  their  mosques  of  alabaster,  and  with  increasing  tenacity  pos- 
sess the  vast  oriental  world  by  the  aid  of  the  tithe.  Mormonism 
spreads  its  loathsome  cancer  and  befouls  our  republic  with  the 
putridity  of  polygamy ;  and  so  rigorous  are  the  leprous  elders  in 
the  collection  of  the  tithe  that  in  the  paying  of  wages  one  tenth 
of  the  coin  is  marked  "tithing  money"  and  may  be  used  for  noth- 
ing else  than  for  the  support  of  their  infamous  institution. 

If  these  enemies  of  the  true  faith  thus  promulgate  their  false 
systems,  surely  the  friends  of  Christ  should  provide  as  much  for 
the  propagation  of  the  truth  that  ennobles  and  sets  free.  And, 
moreover,  if  the  ancient  Jew  gave  a  tenth  for  maintaining  the 
Hebrew  religion  alone,  recognizing  as  he  did  no  obligation  to  any 
other  peoples,  under  how  much  greater  responsibility  is  the  Chris- 
tian to  give  much  more  than  the  Hebrew,  because  the  Christian's 
commission  is  to  "go  into  all  the  world,  and  preach  the  Gospel  to 
every  creature !" 

If  this  scriptural  method  should  be  adopted,  then  history  would 
repeat  itself:  the  chests  of  the  Lord  would  be  bursting  with 
treasure ;  Azariah,  the  chief  priest,  would  answer  again,  "Since 
the  people  began  to  bring  the  offerings  into  the  house  of  the  Lord, 
we  have  had  enough  to  eat,  and  have  left  plenty :  for  the  Lord 


Businesslike 
Methods 


Other 
Religions 
and  the 
Tithe 


Adoption 
of  the 
Scriptural 
Method 


3o8 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


Paramount 
Work  of  the 
Church 


The  Young 
Man  Christ 
Jesus 


hath  blessed  his  people."  And  coronated  Malachi  would  lean 
over  the  battlements  of  heaven  and  shout  once  more,  "There  shall 
be  meat  in  my  house.  I  will  open  the  windows  of  heaven,  and 
pour  you  out  a  blessing,  and  there  shall  not  be  room  to  receive  it." 
The  paramount  work  of  the  Church  to-day  is  the  training  of 
the  youth  into  scriptural  habits  of  giving.  Upon  this  education 
depends  not  only  the  character  and  usefulness  of  the  young 
people,  but  the  redemption  of  our  republic  from  the  thraldom  of 
secularism,  vice,  and  avarice ;  and  the  evangelization  of  the  whole 
world.  Is  it  not  painfully  significant  that  the  so-called  "sub- 
merged tenth"  of  our  population  bears  the  same  fraction  as  the 
tenth  of  our  incomes  which  many  are  withholding?  By  the  aid 
of  God's  tenth  the  submerged  tenth  will  be  rescued.  In  their 
quest  for  the  Holy  Grail  this  noblest  knighthood  that  the  world 
has  ever  seen  must  be  taught  that  the  heavenly  vision  is  for  those 
who  serve  and  sacrifice : 

"  Not  what  we  give,  but  what  we  share, 
For  the  gift  without  the  giver  is  bare  ; 
Who  gives  himself  with  his  alms  feeds  three : 
Himself,  his  hungering  neighbor,  and  me." 

Christ's  advice  to  the  young  man  who  came  seeking  counsel 
was,  "If  thou  wouldst  be  perfect,  go,  sell  that  thou  hast,  and 
give."  Ideal  character  is  possessed  only  by  those  who  most  give. 
"Love  and  venerate  ideals,"  said  Mazzini  to  the  young  men  of 
Italy.  "Ideals  are  the  word  of  God."  If  our  young  people  would 
become  revelations  of  God  to  their  age  they  must  obey  the  law  of 
service  and  not  the  law  of  self. 

"  That  man  may  last,  but  never  lives, 
Who  much  receives  but  nothing  gives ; 
Whom  none  can  love,  whom  none  can  thank, 
Creation's  blot,  creation's  blank." 

"Slowly  the  Bible  of  the  race  is  being  writ."  We  crave  for  our 
youth  that  they  may  contribute  some  imperishable  truths  to  this 
Last  Testament. 

In  his  human  birth,  Jesus  Christ  attracts  the  mothers  to  his 
cause ;  in  his  early  years  in  Nazareth,  he  interests  the  children ; 
in  his  lowly  surroundings,  makes  himself  the  friend  of  the  poor ; 
in  his  grief  and  woes,  finds  followers  among  the  sorrowing  mul- 
titudes;  in  his  crucifixion,  he  draws  all  men  imto  himself;   and 


YOUNG    PEOPLE    AND   SCRIPTURAL   GIVING  *  309 

as  the  Young  Man  Redeemer,  charms  the  young  people  of  the 
world  with  his  enchanting  personality.  Christianity  needs  the 
youth  with  their  boundless  faith  and  hope,  and  their  fiery  enthu- 
siasm. Young  men  won  the  battle  of  Marathon.  Young  men  Young  Men 
saved  Paris'  during  the  French  Revolution.  Young  men  fought  service 
the  battles  of  the  American  republic,  liberated  the  slave,  and  estal)- 
lished  freedom  upon  enduring  foundations.  Three  fourths  of  the 
soldiers  of  the  civil  war  were  under  thirty  years  of  age,  and  one 
half  under  twenty-four.  In  the  recent  conflict,  when  the  suffering 
reconcentrados  were  relieved,  and  the  Pearl  of  the  Antilles  slipped 
from  the  palsied  hand  of  Spain,  the  brave  warriors  who  achieved 
the  victories  m  that  war  for  humanity  were  mere  boys — from  the 
farm  and  factory  and  schoolroom.  I  saw  twenty  thousand  of 
these  noble  comrades  encamped  at  the  Presidio,  in  California. 
One  day  when  the  Red  Cross  women  were  serving  a  sumptuous 
breakfast  to  a  regiment  which  had  just  arrived  from  the  middle 
West  a  good  woman  said  to  one  of  the  soldiers,  "How  many 
lumps  of  sugar  shall  I  put  in  your  coffee?"  He  replied,  "I  don't 
know;  my  mother  always  fixed  it."  The  Church  to-day  wants 
the  youth  to  come  from  the  holy  sanctuary  of  the  mother-heart 
straight  into  the  ranks  of  the  army  of  the  King,  before  they  shall 
have  been  defiled  by  the  contaminations  of  evil. 

It  was  a  little  girl  who  inspired  the  organization  of  the  British 
Bible  Society ;  it  was  a  Methodist  young  woman  who  gave  to 
Robert  Raikes  the  idea  of  the  Sunday  school;  it  was  another 
young  woman  whose  writings  resulted  in  the  establishment  of 
the  Fresh  Air  Funds  of  all  the  large  cities  ;  and  one  of  our  bishops 
declines  the  honor  of  originating  the  call  for  "Twenty  Millions 
Twentieth  Century  Offering,"  and  says  that  it  was  the  product 
of  the  faith  of  a  devoted  Methodist  girl. 

"  So  nigh  is  grandeur  to  our  dust, 

So  near  is  God  to  man, 
When  duty  whispers  low,  Thou  must. 

The  youih  replies,  I  can." 


I  cannot  close  this  argument  without  begging  }otir  indulgence  protection 
to  permit  me  to  say  that  while  the  Church  is  educating  and  train-  J^^^f^^J^ 
ing  the  young  people  into  habits  of  giving  it  should  demand  for 
them    proper    protection    from    evil    influences    and    impending 
calamities.    The  youth  of  the  Church  and  of  the  nation  are  being 


310  THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 

destroyed  by  a  devilish  octopus  of  vice,  which  throws  out  its  long 
tentacles  of  impure  literature,  and  the  saloon,  with  all  its  alluring 
abominations,  Sabbath  breaking,  and  blasphemy,  a  corrupting 
playhouse,  a  prostituted  printing  press,  and  impurity  with  its 
Satanic  siren  voices.  At  a  dog  show  a  few  years  ago  in  a 
Western  State  a  sign  was  displayed  which  read,  "Gentlemen  will 
not  smoke  here ;  it  will  hurt  the  dogs."  O,  when  shall  the  day 
dawn  when  men  shall  cease  their  wickedness  because  it  hurts  the 
boys!  There  will  be  more  money  and  fervor  and  holy  lives  for 
the  Church  and  all  its  missionary  enterprises  when  the  Church 
awakens  to  the  power  which  it  possesses  and  utterly  destroys  the 
destroyer  of  the  youth,  and  makes  licensed  and  protected  vice 
impossible. 
The  Service  In  training  the  youth  into  scriptural  habits  of  giving  we  are 

Clirist^^^"^  teaching  them  that  they  are  called  to  the  service  of  a  living  Christ. 
A  little  crippled  boy,  who  had  received  many  kindnesses  from 
some  devoted  deaconesses  in  their  labors  among  the  poor  of  a 
crowded  city,  was  asked  one  day  as  he  was  presented  with  a 
little  wagon  in  which  he  would  be  able  to  propel  himself,  "Do 
you  believe  Jesus  died  for  you?"  With  eyes  wide  open  with 
bewilderment,  he  replied,  inquiringly,  "Why,  I  thought  Jesus 
Christ  was  alive."  Jesus  lives  to-day  in  the  holy  lives  and  loving 
endeavor  of  his  followers.  We  shall  urge  the  youth  to  earnest 
habits  of  giving  because  he  who  gives  most  to  Christ  gets  most 
from  Christ  and  becomes  most  like  Christ.  Not  only  shall 
we  behold 

"  From  eye  to  eye  through  all  their  order  flash 
A  momentary  likeness  of  the  King," 

A  Never-  but  our  youth  shall  belong  to  a  knighthood  which  shall  never 

Knighthood      Parish,  and  as  incarnations  of  the  King  shall  press  the  battle  for 

righteousness  to  the  ends  of  the  earth,  and  hold  the  citadels  of 

truth,  "until  He  come." 

"  Mourn  not  for  vanquished  ages 

With  their  great  historic  men, 
Who  dwell  in  history's  pages 

And  live  in  the  poet's  pen, 
For  the  grandest  days  are  before  us, 

And  the  world  is  yet  to  see 
The  noblest  work  of  this  whole  earth 

In  the  men — and  women — that  are  to  be." 


MONEY    AND    MISSIONARY    EDUCATIONAL    WORK         ^      3I  I 

And  to-day,  as  we  bring  to  Christ  our  best  youth  with  their 
best  gifts,  and  ourselves  with  our  truest  consecration,  methinks 
I  can  hear  the  angehc  hosts  about  the  throne  shouting  in  gladdest 
hallelujahs,  "Worthy  is  the  Lamb  that  was  slain  to  receive  power, 
and  riches,  and  wisdom,  and  strength,  and  honor,  and  glory,  and 
blessing,"  while  all  the  redeemed  on  the  earth  respond  with  a 
tumultuous  antiphonal  chorus,  whose  billows  of  melody  shall 
dash  against  the  throne  of  the  Eternal,  ''Blessing,  and  honor,  and 
glory,  and  power,  be  unto  him  that  sitteth  upon  the  throne,  and 
unto  the  Lamb  forever  and  ever." 


WHAT  MONEY  MEANS  FOR  EDUCATIONAL 
WORK   IN    THE    FOREIGN    FIELDS 

The  Rev.  F.  D.  Gamewell,  Ph.D. 

The  effort  to  emphasize  a  need  may  overshadow  the  mind  Money  a 
with  that  need  and  distort  the  sense  of  proportion.  While  we  j;^^"^  °  ^^ 
now  turn  our  minds  to  the  consideration  of  the  need — deep,  real, 
never  greater  than  now — of  money  for  the  extension  of  the  king- 
dom of  God,  we  would  that  the  Holy  Spirit  might  so  control  our 
minds,  and  so  speak  to  us  of  God,  that  money  may  appear  only 
as  a  means  to  an  end,  and  that  end  appear  in  its  right  relation  to 
the  purposes  of  God — always  attainable  through  faith. 

I  take  it  for  granted  that  my  subject  may  be  stated  "What 
Money  Means  for  Christian  Education  in  Foreign  Fields,"  since 
the  final  object  of  mission  educational  work  is  the  development 
of  Christian  character. 

It  is  no  longer  a  question  whether  or  not  the  people  of  the 
Orient  are  to  be  educated  by  the  West.  They  are  already  in 
contact  with  the  Western  world,  and  they  will  have  Western 
teaching.  It  rests  with  the  Church  to  say  whether  or  not  they 
shall  have  that  teaching  divorced  from  Christianity  and  from  the 
Christ  who  alone  made  possible  this  Western  civilization. 

Mere    contact    with    so-called    Western    civilization,    without  Western 
Christianity,  has  no  uplifting  power.    The  native  city  of  Shang-  ^'i^Jiouf^°° 
hai  lies  beside  the  foreign  settlement  of  Shanghai.     The  foreign  Christianity 
settlement  has  paved  streets,  electric  lights,  magnificent  dwell- 
ings, and  a  municipal  government  that  keeps  the  streets  in  finest 
order ;  yet  side  by  side  with  this  modern  and  well-kept  city  stands 


312 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


A  Christian 
Environment 


Centers  of 
Influence 


Three  Telling 
Banners 


the  native  walled  city,  unchanged  through  years  of  contact,  and 
still  one  of  the  filthiest  cities  of  the  Chinese  empire. 

Money  means  Christian  education,  which  in  turn  means  Chris- 
tian civilization.  In  his  "Strategic  Points  in  the  World's  Con- 
quest" Mr.  Mott  says,  "After  visiting  all  the  various  colleges  of 
China  and  studying  them  with  care  we  are  convinced  that  no 
money  is  being  expended  that  is  yielding  larger  returns."  Again 
Mr.  Mott  says,  "If  money  is  wisely  poured  into  this  work  during 
the  next  few  years  it  will  do  much  to  hasten  the  evangelization  of 
the  country  and  to  give  a  truly  Christian  civilization  to  the  China 
of  the  coming  century." 

Money  means  the  strengthening  of  institutions  which  are  doing 
work  while  they  suffer  from  inadequate  equipment — institutions 
that,  as  Mr.  Mott  says,  "are  the  hope  of  the  country,"  institutions 
in  which  "are  being  trained  the  literati  of  the  new  China."  We 
scarcely  realize  in  these  Western  lands  how  much  we  owe  to  our 
Christian  environment.  In  church,  in  school,  in  our  homes,  in 
all  the  walks  of  life,  we  are  brought  into  contact  wdth  uplifting 
influences  that  permeate  the  very  atmosphere  of  a  land  where 
God  is  known.  On  the  other  hand,  over  the  lands  where  God  is 
not  known  broods  a  spiritual  malaria  that  saturates,  depresses, 
and  degrades  life  until  there  are  produced  the  conditions  pictured 
by  the  apostle  Paul  in  the  first  chapter  of  Romans. 

Money  establishes  missions  in  such  countries,  and  so  provides 
for  the  formation  of  little  centers  of  influence,  into  which  the 
young  people  may  be  gathered  out  of  the  malarious  atmosphere 
of  heathenism,  and  there  develop  in  the  midst  of  surroundings 
that  at  least  suggest  the  environment  of  a  Christian  civilization. 
Within  the  walls  of  the  mission  compound  are  the  church,  the 
schoolhouses,  and  the  homes,  and  over  all  a  healthful  spiritual 
atmosphere.  In  this  little  Christian  world  there  are  many  lessons 
and  much  strength  absorbed  by  the  students  and  other  converts 
who  attend  morning  and  evening  prayers,  the  weekly  prayer 
meetings,  the  Sunday  school  and  the  church  services,  and  fre- 
quent the  homes  of  the  missionaries. 

Money  prepares  a  native  ministry.  You  see  hanging  above 
this  platform  three  banners.  They  bear  the  names  of  Chinese 
who  died  for  the  faith  in  the  summer  of  1900.  On  the  banner 
hanging  in  the  middle  are  the  names  of  five  Methodist  preachers. 
The  first  is  Chen  Ta  Yung.     His  father  was  the  first  convert 


MONEY   AND   MISSIONARY   EDUCATIONAL   WORK        *      313 

received  into  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of  North  China. 

The  son  also  was  converted  and  became  our  first  preacher.     So 

strong  and  true  was  he  that  years  ago,  when  failure  among  the 

natives  and  other  developments  tried  the  courage  of  workers, 

one  missionary  remarked  of  this  man,  "As  long  as  Chen  Ta  Faithful  unto 

Yung  remains  true  I  have  faith  to  hold  on  and  believe  in  better   ^®*'^ 

days  to  come."     Chen  Ta  Yung  was  killed  with  his  wife  and  a 

son  and  a  daughter.    Another  son  of  his  is  on  the  platform,  and 

I  shall  have  the  pleasure  of  introducing  him  to  you  this  morning. 

Next  to  Chen  Ta  Yung's  name  is  that  of  Wang  Cheng  Pei. 
During  the  siege,  while  leading  against  an  attack,  he  was  struck 
by  a  bullet  and  mortally  wounded.  I  was  hurrying  about  my 
work  on  the  fortifications  when  he  was  carried  by  on  a  stretcher. 
I  followed,  and  when  they  laid  him  down  I  knelt  beside  him  and 
said,  "Cheng  Pei,  is  it  all  right?"  He  knew  what  I  meant,  and 
said,  "Yes,  my  body  is  in  great  pain,  but  my  heart  is  at  peace." 
One  who  was  with  him  when  he  died  said  that  he  passed  away 
in  peace  and  quiet  confidence,  knowing  Whom  he  believed. 
Thank  God,  this  Gospel  we  preach  is  the  power  of  God  unto  sal- 
vation to  every  one  that  belie veth. 

The  third  name  on  the  banner  is  Chou  Hsueh  Shen,  a  student 
of  Peking  University.  The  fourth  is  Li  Chi  Hsien.  He  was  a 
graduate  of  that  same  institution.  He  was  helping  others 
through  danger  and  was  struck  by  a  bullet  and  instantly  killed. 
That  name  recalls  the  bright  eager  face  of  one  ready  and  helpful 
during  the  first  days  of  the  siege.  The  last  is  the  name  of  Li  Te 
Jen,  another  graduate  of  the  Peking  University.  He  and  his 
wife  were  killed  outside  the  city  during  the  terrible  summer  of 
1900.  Two  preachers  prepared  in  the  training  school,  three  young 
evangelists  the  product  of  an  advanced  educational  institution, 
strong  in  Christian  character,  serving  the  Lord  through  life,  and 
with  good  courage  dying  for  the  faith.  This  is  one  answer  to 
the  question,  "What  money  means  for  educational  work — for 
character  building." 

The  banner  on  the  right  contains  the  names  of  one  hundred  Many 
and  sixteen  martyrs  in  the  cities  of  Lan  Chou  and  in  Shan  Hai 
Kuan,  a  city  at  the  beginning  of  the  Great  Wall,  where  it  starts 
by  the  sea  and  stretches  on  for  a  distance  of  fifteen  hundred 
miles  to  the  great  plains  of  Thibet.  On  this  banner  to  your  left 
we  have  the  names  of  one  hundred  and  thirty  martyrs  from  the 


314 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


Higher 
Education 
in  the 
United 
States 


The  Largest 
Use  of 
Wealth 


city  of  Tsunhua,  where  we  had  a  most  prosperous  work.  Since 
I  have  been  in  this  Convention  I  have  received  a  letter  from  one 
of  our  graduates  who  is  now  preaching  the  Gospel  in  that  city. 
In  bringing  any  people  to  God  the  natives  must  perform  a  large 
service.  One  thing  that  money  means  for  educational  work  is 
the  training  of  natives  for  leadership. 

Money  means  relatively  more  in  the  foreign  field  than  it  does 
in  these  home  lands.  Just  as  the  meaning  of  a  word  depends 
upon  its  relationship  to  other  words,  so  the  meaning  of  money 
as  an  investment  depends  upon  its  relationship  to  other  invest- 
ments. 

In  the  United  States  we  have  reached  a  point  in  our  develop- 
ment where  our  educational  work  is  on  a  scale  of  such  magnitude 
that  what  would  be  a  very  significant  sum  in  India  or  in  China 
or  in  Japan  is  not  specially  significant  in  the  United  States.  A 
report  of  an  American  university  gives  the  assets  of  that  uni- 
versity as  twenty-one  millions  of  dollars,  and  then  states  that 
there  is  needed  ten  million  dollars  to  carry  on  the  work  of  the 
institution,  and  that  five  million  dollars  additional  is  absolutely 
necessary  if  the  demands  upon  the  institution  are  to  be  met. 
What  is  one  hundred  thousand  dollars  beside  such  sums  as  these  ? 
Yet  with  one  hundred  thousand  dollars  our  North  China  insti- 
tution would  leap  into  an  activity  that  would  abound  in  results 
afifecting  the  welfare  of  a  nation  of  four  hundred  millions  of 
people.  I  hold  in  my  hand  a  clipping  which  announces  that  a 
lady  has  given  twenty-five  thousand  dollars  for  an  organ  for  one 
of  our  well-equipped  universities.  As  I  read  the  paragraph 
and  thought  of  the  fifty  perpetual  scholarships  that  amount  would 
mean  in  India,  Japan,  Korea,  and  China,  and  of  the  message 
that  through  those  scholarships  would  find  those  in  darkness 
and  the  shadow  of  death,  I  longed  that  God  would  touch  the 
hearts  of  those  to  whom  he  has  intrusted  his  treasure,  and  help 
them  to  put  it  to  the  largest  use. 

We  are  in  the  midst  of  a  crisis  that  demands  not  only  a  large 
use  of  wealth,  but  demands  that  it  be  put  to  its  largest  possible 
use.  I  do  not  stand  as  a  special  pleader  for  China,  but  plead  in 
behalf  of  the  kingdom  of  God.  I  learned  many  lessons  in 
Peking  during  the  siege.  We  had  a  long  line ;  it  was  held  by 
all  nationalities — part  by  the  Japanese,  part  by  the  French,  part 
by  the  Italians,  part  by  the  Americans,  part  by  the  English,  and 


MONEY   AND   MISSIONARY    EDUCATIONAL    WORK     ^        315 

part  by  the  Russians,  Germans,  Austrians.  Wherever  that  Hne 
was  hard  pressed,  there  we  raUied.  We  reahzed  that  faihire  at 
any  one  point  meant  failure  at  every  point.  And  so  in  this  con- 
quest of  the  world  for  Jesus  Christ,  wherever  the  line  is  hard 
pressed,  there  let  us  rally. 

I  take  great  pleasure  at  this  time  in  presenting  to  you  the  Chen  Wei 
young  man  of  whom  I  spoke — the  son  of  the  Rev.  Chen  Ta  Yung,  ^'**°S 
Mr.  Chen  Wei  Cheng.  He  graduated  from  Peking  University 
in  1896.  It  was  my  privilege  to  hand  him  his  diploma.  Sir 
Robert  Hart,  inspector  general  of  the  Chinese  customs,  who  has 
always  been  a  friend  of  the  university,  ofiFered  to  take  its  gradu- 
ates into  the  customs  service.  The  salary  there  would  be  from 
twenty-five  to  seventy-five  dollars  per  month.  On  the  other  hand, 
a  preacher  or  a  teacher  in  missionary  work  would  never  receive 
more  than  ten  dollars  a  month.  Mr.  Cheng  believed  that  his 
responsibilities  demanded  that  he  take  service  under  Sir  Robert. 
The  missionaries  believed  such  a  move  a  mistake,  and  they  talked 
with  him  and  prayed  constantly  for  him.  But  his  first  thought 
prevailed,  and  he  took  from  me  the  letter  that  introduced  him  to 
Sir  Robert.  He  passed  the  examination  and  had  only  to  wait  a 
day  or  two  for  an  appointment  to  a  lucrative  position,  but  before 
that  appointment  came  Mr.  Chen  returned  in  distress  and  asked 
for  a  place  in  the  mission,  saying  that  he  had  had  no  peace  since 
undertaking  to  enter  a  merely  money-making  position.  He  now 
felt  that  his  Hfework  must  be  in  helping  to  dispel  the  darkness 
that  shrouded  so  many  of  his  people.  He  has  been  for  several 
years  a  teacher  in  the  Peking  University. 

He  went  from  Peking  as  China's  delegate  to  the  World's  Stu- 
dent Christian  Federation  Conference  in  Denmark,  and  is  now 
returning  from  there  to  China.  I  ask  your  attention  and  your 
prayers  for  the  work  of  Christian  education  as  he  speaks  for  a 
few  moments. 


3i6 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


A  Family  of 
Martyrs 


Questions 
not  to  be 
Asked 


AN   APPEAL    FROM    CHINA 

Mr.    Chen    Wei    Cheng 

As  I  stand  here  I  can  hardly  find  words  that  are  expressive 
enough  to  express  my  profound  gratitude  and  deep  appreciation 
of  what  you  have  done  for  us — all  the  young  men  in  China  who 
are  being  educated  or  who  have  been  educated  in  Christian 
colleges.  As  you  have  been  told,  many  of  the  students  of  our  col- 
leges were  called  to  witness  to  their  faith  with  their  lives.  They 
did  not  count  their  lives  dear  to  themselves.  The  speaker's  par- 
ents and  brother  and  sister  were  among  the  martyrs.  There  are 
millions  of  young  men  in  China  who  are  not  educated  or  who 
have  received  a  secular  education.  What  we  want  is  a  Christian 
education.  We  would  like  to  have  men  and  women  to  come  over 
and  help  us.  I  am  not  going  to  ask  you  for  money,  though  I 
haven't  any  objection  to  accept  any  offer,  but  that  is  not  my 
intention  this  morning.  But  we  want  men,  we  want  that  men 
and  women  may  come,  and  with  a  readiness  to  sufifer  for  Jesus 
Christ.  I  have  been  asked  many  a  time,  during  my  travels  in 
this  country,  whether  China  is  safe  enough  for  missionaries  to 
go  there.  Let  those  questions.  Is  it  safe?  Is  it  politic?  Is  it 
dangerous? — let  those  questions  never  be  asked,  because  to  ask 
these  questions  is  to  doubt  our  Lord's  wisdom  and  his  presence 
and  his  power. 


THE  RESPONSIBILITY  RESTING  UPON  THE 
DELEGATES   TO    THIS   CONVENTION 

Mr.   John   R.   Mott 

A  Slaze  of  This  is  one  of  the  most  dangerous  conventions  that  has  ever 

Light  been  hei(j  jj^  ^]^q  interest  of  the  missionary  work  of  the  Church. 

Seldom,  if  ever,  has  a  body  of  earnest  Christians  been  exposed 
to  a  more  abundant  blaze  of  light  concerning  the  need  of  the 
world  and  the  desires  and  purposes  of  our  Saviour.  It  should 
lead  us  this  morning  to  tremble  as  we  think  of  the  responsibility 
which  rests  upon  us  in  the  light  of  the  plan  of  God  and  of  the 
opportunity  of  the  hour.  We  cannot  relegate  this  responsibility 
to  men  holding  certain  official  positions.    The  burden  is  so  great 


THE    RESPONSIBILI^TY    OF    DELEGATES  ^      317 

that  it  will  not  be  lifted  unless  every  delegate  of  this  Convention 
cheerfully  yet  humbly  accepts  the  measure  which  God  assigns  to 
him. 

Our  responsibility,  in  the  first  place,  is  to  keep  ourselves  abreast 
of  this  wonderful  movement ;  to  keep  ourselves  informed  in  a 
larger  measure  than  in  the  past  concerning  the  missionary  enter- 
prise. To  do  the  will  of  God  we  must  know  the  needs  of  man.  The  Will  of 
It  is  inconceivable  that  we  be  perfectly  certain  that  we  are  in  the  NeedTVMen 
place  where  God  wishes  us  to  be,  and  doing  what  he  wants  us  to 
do,  if  we  are  not  intelligent  concerning  the  moral  and  religious 
conditions  of  two  thirds  of  the  iiuman  race.  Too  often  there 
might  be  addressed  to  us  the  words,  which  our  Saviour  used  in 
an  entirely  different  connection,  "Ye  do  err,  not  knowing  the 
Scriptures,  nor  the  power  of  God."  If  there  is  any  place  where 
the  power  of  God  is  being  manifested  more  than  elsewhere  to-day 
it  is  in  connection  with  this  extension  of  Christ's  kingdom  in  non- 
Christian  lands.  We  should  therefore  be  ambitious,  as  good 
churchmen,  to  keep  informed  concerning  the  kingdom  of  Jesus 
Christ,  its  extent,  its  difficulties  and  problems,  its  history  and 
achievements,  its  resources  and  possibilities.  We  should  be  satis- 
fied with  nothing  less  than  the  world-wide  horizon  of  Jesus  Christ- 
I  can  think  of  no  better  creed  for  us  to  take  as  we  go  forth  than 
that  of  St.  Augustine,  "A  whole  Christ  for  my  salvation,  a  whole 
Bible  for  my  staff,  a  whole  Church  for  my  fellowship,  and  a  whole 
world  for  my  parish." 

Our  responsibility  is  not  only  to  keep  ourselves  informed,  but   An 
also  to  assist  in  carrying  forward  a  thoroughgoing  campaign  of   continuous 
missionary  education.     This  campaign  must  be  extensive.     We   Campaign  of 
need  something  that  corresponds  to  the  Tractarian   Movement. 
We  should  have  documents  to  distribute  by  the  millions  instead 
of  by  tens  of  thousands. 

The  campaign  must  be  also  continuous  if  we  are  to  meet  the 
successive  opportunities  as  they  present  themselves.  It  must  be 
under  very  wise  leadership,  for  there  is  no  more  difficult  task  than 
that  of  educating  people  concerning  their  responsibilities  in  an 
intense  age  like  this,  when  it  is  so  difficult  to  arrest  and  to  hold 
the  attention  upon  the  plans  of  God.  It  will  involve  the  expendi- 
ture of  more  money  than  we  may  have  realized  or  possibly  thought 
wi.se.    But  there  could  be  no  better  use  of  money. 

Our  responsibility  includes  the  helping  to  adopt  a  comprehen- 


3i8 


THE   CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


A  Compre- 
hensive 
Policy 


Enlarged 
Financial 
Cooperation 


sive  plan  and  a  statesmanlike  policy,  with  reference  to  the  mis- 
sionary opportunity  of  our  Church.  We  need  a  comprehensive 
policy  in  the  sense  that  we  take  the  whole  world  into  our  thought, 
as  do  the  Jesuits.  It  should  be  comprehensive,  also,  in  the  sense 
that  it  spans  the  generation  which  we  are  seeking  to  serve.  We 
should  strive  to  do  the  fair  thing  by  the  whole  generation  to  which 
we  belong,  and  not  be  occupied  chiefly  with  emergencies.  Our 
policy  should  be  statesmanlike  in  that  we  relate  ourselves  to  all 
the  existing  agencies  being  employed  by  different  Churches,  ob- 
serving faithfully  the  principles  of  comity  which,  as  Bishop 
Thoburn  has  pointed  out,  if  properly  observed  throughout  the 
world,  would  yield  a  result  the  equivalent  of  adding  thousands 
of  new  missionaries. 

It  should  be  statesmanlike  also  in  that  we  avail  ourselves  of  the 
abundant  resources  of  our  Church.  We  should,  like  the  European 
Powers,  in  adopting  their  naval  programs  and  budgets,  look  down 
through  the  generation  and  wisely  distribute  our  burdens  over 
the  years  and  bring  up  all  forces  to  meet  our  opportunities. 

I  have  talked  recently  with  some  of  the  wealthiest  men  of  the 
country  concerning  the  methods  and  plans  of  missionary  organi- 
zations, and  I  have  formed  the  impression  that  they  will  be  most 
responsive  to  a  plan  which  seems  to  be  adequate  to  meet  the  needs 
of  our  generation. 

We  are  responsible  also  to  help  to  enlarge  greatly  the  financial 
cooperation  of  the  Church.  There  is  need  in  our  time  of  more 
heroic  and  self-denying  giving.  There  is  need  of  the  propaga- 
tion, in  every  pulpit  and  periodical,  of  the  doctrine  that  we  are 
trustees,  not  simply  of  one  tenth,  but  of  all  that  we  possess ;  and 
that  we  are  responsible  to  God  not  only  for  the  good  use  of  our 
money,  but  for  its  best  use.  The  principle  laid  down  by  Living- 
stone is  scriptural  and  should  be  emphasized,  to  attach  no  value 
to  anything  we  have  or  may  possess,  except  in  its  relation  to  the 
kingdom  of  Jesus  Christ.  We  should  aim  to  secure  next  year 
not  less  than  three  million  dollars  for  the  work  of  the  Missionary 
Society.  It  is  not  a  chimerical  scheme,  but  eminently  sensible 
and  practicable,  to  work  for  and  to  expect  an  average  of  one 
dollar  from  every  member  and  probationer.  Thirty  years  ago  we 
were  only  giving  forty-five  cents  a  member,  and  we  are  only 
giving  that  much  to-day.  If  it  be  objected  that  that  was  a  time 
of  inflated  currency  I  would  remind  you  that  even  ten  years  ago, 


THE   RESPONSIBILITY   OF   DELEGATES  *        319 

when  the  currency  was  not  inflated,  we  were  not  giving  appre- 
ciably less  than  we  are  giving  now  per  member ;  and  in  the  mean- 
time our  Church  has  grown  not  only  in  membership,  but  markedly 
in  wealth  and  prestige,  thus  greatly  increasing  her  responsibility. 
If  we  give  a  dollar  per  member  this  year  we  will  still  be  giving 
less  than  the  Presbyterians  and  Congregationalists  give  per  mem- 
ber for  foreign  missions. 

The  time  has  come  when  we  should  strike  also  for  large  en-  Large 
dowments  for  different  parts  of  our  missionary  plant.  I  attended  Endowments 
the  meeting  of  the  American  Board  of  Commissioners  for  Foreign 
Missions  at  Oberlin  a  few  days  ago,  and  there  the  chairman,  the 
Hon.  S.  B.  Capen,  sounded  the  call  for  a  million  and  a  half  dol- 
lars for  about  fifteen  colleges  connected  with  that  board.  In  my 
judgment  we  ought  to  have  not  less  than  a  million  of  dollars  for 
the  colleges  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  I  have  had  the 
privilege  of  visiting  and  inspecting  most  of  them.  Where  in  the 
realm  of  Methodism  could  we  spend  to  better  advantage  one 
million  dollars  than  in  connection  with  those  noble  institutions  of 
learning  in  China,  Japan,  and  India?  The  Protestant  Episcopal 
Church  the  other  day  appointed  a  committee  to  raise  one  million 
dollars  with  which  to  endow  the  missions  of  one  of  their  most 
restricted  fields,  the  Philippines.  We  need  to  adjust  ourselves  to 
larger  opportunities.  The  statement  given  out  a  few  days  ago 
by  the  secretary  of  the  Twentieth  Century  Thank  Offering  enter- 
prise indicated  that  the  fund  had  passed  a  little  over  the  $18,000,- 
000  mark.  It  was  also  stated  that  of  that  $18,000,000  only 
$50,000  is  assigned  to  the  work  of  the  Missionary  Society,  or  one 
three-hundred-and-sixtieth  of  the  total.  If  you  add  the  $400,000 
promised  to  the  Woman's  Foreign  Missionary  Society,  it  makes 
only  one  fortieth  of  the  total  sum  thus  far  subscribed  to  the  great 
task  of  the  world's  evangelization.  There  is  probably  not  a  con- 
scientious Christian  here  this  morning  who  would  differ  from 
me  when  I  state  that  if  Jesus  Christ  were  among  us,  looking  over 
our  plans,  estimates,  and  achievements,  he  would  say  we  are  not 
making  a  fair  distribution. 

There  must  also  be  a  greater  oflFering  of  lives  for  the  foreign  a  Greater 
missionary  service.     In  studying  the  statistics  of  the  Missionary  J?","^  "' 
Society  lately  I  noticed  that  there  has  been  a  net  increase  of  only 
about  two  new  missionaries  each  year  for  the  past  five  years. 
Adding  the  new  workers  sent  out  by  the  Woman's  Society,  it 


320 


THE    CLEVELANt)    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


Missionary 
Pastors 


A  Personal 
Appeal 


The 

Ministry  of 
Intercession 


makes  a  total  annual  increase  of  about  ten  or  eleven  for  the  past 
five  years.  The  Presbyterian  Board  last  year  alone  sent  out  over 
seventy  new  missionaries.  They  have  no  larger  field,  no  larger 
opportunity  or  responsibility,  and  I  believe  they  have  no  larger 
ability.  Bishop  McCabe,  Bishop  Hartzell,  Bishop  Thoburn, 
Bishop  Moore,  and  Dr.  Drees,  in  response  to  a  question  sent  them 
recently,  asking  how  many  new  men  are  needed  at  once  in  order 
to  carry  forward  the  work  we  have  on  hand  and  to  grapple  with 
our  present  opportunity,  replied  giving  statistics  which  foot  up 
to  248  new  foreign  workers. 

We  need  more  pastors  who  are  ambitious  to  raise  up  missionary 
candidates  from  among  their  people.  I  learned  of  one  church 
in  England  that  out  of  a  membership  of  three  hundred  has  during 
the  past  ten  years  furnished  from  among  its  own  membership 
thirty-two  volunteers,  of  whom  twenty  are  already  on  the  foreign 
field,  three  others  are  being  prepared,  and  the  remaining  nine  have 
been  rejected  as  not  having  the  necessary  qualifications.  I  appeal 
also  to  college  presidents  and  professors  that  they  seek  to  lay 
even  greater  stress  upon  developing  the  missionary  possibilities 
of  our  institutions  of  higher  learning.  We  want  more  colleges, 
with  a  missionary  record  like  that  of  Ohio  Wesleyan,  Oberlin, 
Northwestern,  Mount  Holyoke,  and  Cambridge. 

May  it  not  be  that  God  is  calling  some  of  the  delegates  of  this 
Convention  to  ofifer  ourselves  to  meet  the  immediate  needs  of  the 
Missionary  Society  ?  May  it  not  be  that  some  young  pastors  who 
are  at  influential  posts  at  home,  and  some  of  the  younger  pro- 
fessors in  our  colleges,  are  far  more  needed  to-day  at  strategic 
points  on  the  mission  field  ?  May  the  Lord  of  the  harvest,  whose 
it  is  to  separate  laborers  unto  the  work  whereunto  he  has  called 
them,  do  his  own  work  among  us  as  we  yield  ourselves  without 
prejudice  and  with  openness  of  mind  and  heart  to  his  gracious 
influence. 

Our  responsibility  implies  that  we  give  ourselves  individually 
to  the  ministry  of  intercession  with  greater  fervor,  definiteness, 
and  faith  than  heretofore ;  and  that  on  our  return  to  our  homes 
we  seek  to  call  forth  a  larger  volume  of  prayer  on  behalf  of  world- 
wide missions.  I  despair  of  our  doing  the  other  things  that  have 
been  urged  vipon  us  here,  unless  this  thing  be  done.  I  not  only 
despair  of  it,  but  I  do  not  expect  it.  My  reason  and  faith  stagger 
at  the  tasks  before  us  unless  we  be  more  faithful  in  prayer.     If 


CHRIST    OUR    LIVING    LEADER  i      321 

we  are  to  become  like  Christ  in  other  things  we  must  become  Hke 
him  in  prayer.  Everything  really  vital  to  this  missionary  enter- 
prise hinges  on  prayer.  The  raising  up  of  the  laborers  is  God's 
answer  to  prayer.  Laborers  going  forth  as  God-sent  men  is  a 
result  of  prayer.  The  giving  of  money  with  such  purity  of 
motive  that  it  becomes  irresistible  in  its  working  is  a  product  of 
prayer.  The  battering  down  of  the  great  walls  of  opposition  that 
confront  the  laborers  on  the  mission  fields  can  be  accomplished 
only  through  prayer.  The  commanding  of  the  power  of  the  un- 
seen world  to  descend  upon  the  laborers  in  lonely,  distant  fields 
is  the  work  of  prayer.  Every  great  spiritual  movement  that 
reminds  men  that  God  is  in  the  place  is  the  result  of  prayer.  Let 
us  be  faithful  in  the  use  of  this  force.  Every  other  method  will 
be  made  most  effective  by  the  employment  of  this  one.  Without 
it  any  method  is  comparatively  superficial  and  fruitless.  Remem- 
ber the  desire  of  Spurgeon :  "O  that  we  might  have  five  hundred 
Elijahs,  each  one  upon  his  Mount  Carmel,  making  incessant  men- 
tion of  the  mission  cause  in  prayer !  Then  that  little  cloud  that  is 
after  all  no  larger  than  a  man's  hand  would  spread  and  spread 
until  it  darkened  the  heavens  and  the  great  showers  would  descend 
upon  the  thirsty  earth." 

Let  us  go  forth  from  this  Convention  not  in  a  spirit  of  elation 
because  of  what  we  have  accomplished  here,  but  in  the  spirit  of 
humility,  recognizing  the  movings  of  the  Spirit  of  God  in  our 
midst.  "Let  us,"  in  the  words  of  Neesima,  "advance  upon  our 
knees !" 


CHRIST   OUR   LIVING    LEADER 

Mr.    Robert   E.    Speer 

When  we  declare  Jesus  Christ  to  be  his  religion ;  when  we  jeaus  Chriat 
assert  that  he  himself  is  the  essence,  the  fundamental  principle,  ^^^"gjj 
the  center  and  the  outermost  bound  of  it,  we  at  once  take  a  posi- 
tion on  one  side  of  the  greatest  theological  question  of  our  day 
or  of  any  day,  namely,  the  relationship  of  Jesus  Christ  to  Chris- 
tianity. There  are  those  who  say  that  Jesus  Christ  is  separable 
from  his  religion.  The  editor  of  a  New  York  ex-religious  paper 
recently  published  an  article  in  his  journal  in  which  he  took  the 
ground  that  the  essence  of  Christianity  is  not  what  Jesus  Christ 
21 


322 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


The  Way, 
the  Truth, 
and  the  Life 


Jesus  and  the 
Father 


was,  or  what  Jesus  Christ  did,  but  what  Jesus  Christ  said,  and 
that  any  man  who  is  in  sympathy  with  the  life  that  Jesus  Christ 
praised  is  a  Christian,  no  matter  whether  he  is  a  Buddhist,  or  a 
Mohammedan,  or  a  polytheist ;  that,  in  a  word,  Jesus  Christ  can 
be  eUminated  from  his  reUgion,  and  the  reUgion  itself,  in  its  essen- 
tial character,  will  still  remain.  And  while  Harnack  does  not 
take  such  an  extreme  view  as  that,  and  is  not  consistent  in  his 
own  statement,  yet  in  What  Is  Christianity f  he  says,  as  clearly 
as  anyone  can  say,  that  the  Christological  aspect  of  Christianity 
was  something  foisted  upon  it  from  outside,  and  not  incorporated 
in  it  by  our  Lord  himself ;  in  other  words,  that  it  is  quite  possible 
to  take  Jesus  Christ  out  of  his  faith,  and  to  have  left  everything 
that  is  fundamental  and  essential  to  it. 

As  over  against  this  view,  we  who  are  gathered  here  this  even- 
ing hold  that  Jesus  Christ  and  his  religion  cannot  be  separated ; 
that  he  is  his  religion ;  that  whoever  enters  that  religion  does 
not  so  much  enter  his  ethics  as  enter  him,  does  not  so  much 
attach  himself  to  his  institutions  as  attach  himself  to  his  life. 
And  we  cannot  go  back  to  the  days  in  which  Christianity  began, 
and  listen  to  the  words  of  Him  who  is  still  his  faith,  without  un- 
derstanding from  him  directly  that  it  is  impossible  to  divorce  him 
from  his  religion  and  have  his  religion  left.  "I  am  the  Way,  and 
the  Truth,  and  the  Life:  no  man  cometh  unto  the  Father,  but 
by  me.  The  bread  which  I  will  give  is  my  flesh,  which  I  will 
give  for  the  life  of  the  world.  I,  if  I  be  lifted  up,  will  draw 
all  men  unto  me.  I  am  the  bread  of  life.  I  am  the  light  of 
the  world.  He  that  seeth  me,  seeth  the  Father.  I  and  the 
Father  are  one." 

And  if  it  be  replied,  as  Harnack  does  reply,  that  all  this  is  just 
in  John's  lens  and  not  in  the  Gospel,  that  it  is  the  way  John  felt 
about  Jesus  and  not  what  Jesus  said  about  himself,  we  reply  that 
in  one  passage  in  the  synoptic  gospels,  a  passage,  so  far  as  I  know, 
not  disputed  by  radical  criticism,  Jesus  Christ  speaks  as  plainly  as 
John  reports  him  in  the  fourth  gospel,  regarding  the  indissoluble 
relationship  between  him  personally  and  his  faith.  "No  man," 
he  saith,  in  the  eleventh  chapter  of  Matthew,  "knoweth  the  Son 
but  the  Father,  and  no  man  knoweth  the  Father  save  the  Son  and 
he  to  whom  the  Son  willeth  to  reveal  him."  Those  of  us  gathered 
here  this  evening  are  quite  willing  to  take  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
as  authority  on  the  question  as  to  what  constitutes  his  rerigion. 


CHRIST   OUR    LIVING    LEADER 


323 


Jesus  Christ  himself  in  his  faith,  and  whoever  ehniinates  liini, 
though  he  lias  something  left  that  is  better  than  Buddhism  or 
Mohammedanism,  has  not  Christianity  as  it  came  from  Him  who 
declared  that  whoever  would  have  life  must  eat  iiim,  his  flesh,  and 
drink  him,  his  blood. 

The  way  the  apostle  Paul  puts  the  whole  core  of  the  Gospel 
in  the  fifteenth  chapter  of  First  Corinthians  illustrates  the  point 
that  I  am  trying  to  make  clear  at  the  outset,  that  Jesus  Christ  him- 
self is  his  religion :  "If  Christ  be  not  risen,  then  is  our  preaching 
vain,  and  your  faith  is  also  vain."  He  could  not  have  conceived 
of  a  religion  in  which  a  polytheist  or  an  atheist  could  sit  down 
on  equal  terms  with  himself,  and  from  which  Jesus  Christ,  with 
all  his  personal  revelation  of  the  Father,  and  his  personal  redeem- 
ing work  that  nobody  but  he  could  do  in  the  world,  was  to  be 
utterly  excluded  and  eliminated.  When  he  thus  laid  the  emphasis 
upon  the  living,  personal  Christ  as  the  whole  foundation  of  the 
Christian  faith  he  emphasized  for  our  time  as  well  as  for  that  first 
time  the  perpetual  place  of  the  living  Christ  in  his  religion.  His 
religion  is  not  a  body  of  propositions,  necessary  as  they  are.  His 
religion  is  not  an  erected  institution.  His  religion  is  not  a  clear 
and  convincing  ethics.  His  religion  is  a  living  Lord,  incorporated 
in  human  life  once,  nineteen  hundred  years  ago,  and  incorporated 
in  human  life  as  really  and  as  truly  to-day.  Surely  a  gathering  of 
this  Church  ought  to  be  the  last  spot  on  earth  where  it  would  be 
necessary  even  to  emphasize  overmuch  the  great  truth  that  Jesus 
Christ  is  alive  to-day  in  the  experience  of  men ;  that  to-day,  as 
truly  as  nineteen  hundred  years  ago,  he  has  appeared,  not  to 
Cephas  only  and  to  the  five  hundred,  and  last  of  all  to  Paul,  but 
to  you  and  me  too,  so  that  we  can  say  of  a  truth,  differently,  per- 
haps, in  the  way,  but  yet  really  with  the  same  authority  as  John, 
"What  my  eyes  have  seen,  and  my  ears  have  heard,  and  my  hands 
have  handled  of  the  Word  of  life,  declare  I  unto  you." 

And  this  belief  in  the  living  Christ  as  himself  the  essential 
principle  of  his  faith  is,  after  all.  the  radically  distinguishing 
thing  of  our  religion.  It  is  this  that  separates  it  from  all  other 
religions  in  the  world.  Christianity  is  not  superior  to  all  other 
religions  in  the  world  primarily  because  its  book  is  better  than 
other  books — although  its  book  is  better.  It  is  not  primarily 
superior  to  other  religions  because  it  establishes  more  pure  and 
satisfactorv  social  institutions  than  they  can  supply — although  it 


The  Living, 

Personal 

Christ 


The  Dis- 
tinguishing 
Element  in 
Christianity 


324  THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 

does.  It  is  not  superior  because  it  reveals  to  man  primarily  a 
better  method  of  life  than  they  display.  It  is  different  from  other 
religions  and  superior  to  them  because  it  sustains  to  a  Person 
who  was  and  who  is  a  relation  that  no  other  religion  sustains  to 
any  great  character  in  history  or  in  life.  You  can  separate  every 
other  reHgion,  even  Islam,  from  its  founder  and  have  the  religion 
left;  but  you  cannot  separate  Christianity  from  Christ  and  have 
left  what  he  regarded  as  Christianity,  and  what  all  those  who 
have  his  commission  must  likewise  regard  as  the  essential  Chris- 
tian faith. 

It  is  this  that  distinguishes  our  religion  not  alone  from  other 
religions,  but  from  all  defective  forms  of  it,  from  the  overinstitu- 
tional  side  of  it  on  one  side,  from  the  overmoralization  of  it  on 
the  other.  Our  religion  is  not  a  fine  body  of  forms  and  ideas  of 
worship,  or  even  a  great  and  coherent  system  of  moral  principles 
— although  it  is  both  of  these  things ;  our  religion  is  a  living 
Person  who  came  from  God  nineteen  hundred  years  ago  and  is 
here  still. 
A  Great  If  we  will  go  back  to  the  first  days  and  tliink  how  Christianity 

CojrdctiorT  ^nust  have  appeared  to  the  men  who  got  their  impressions  of  it 
fresh  from  the  Lord  himself  we  shall  understand  how  essential 
it  is  that  we  get  firm  hold  of  this  great  evangelical  conviction. 
They  followed  what?  Only  Christ.  It  was  not  the  work  of 
Christ  that  constituted  the  Christianity  of  John  and  James  and 
Peter.  The  work  of  Christ  had  not  been  done.  The  shadow  of 
the  cross  had  not  yet  fallen  across  their  lives.  It  was  not  the 
institution  of  the  Church  that  constituted  Christianity  to  them ; 
the  Church  had  not  yet  been  established  in  the  world.  It  was  not 
the  doctrine  of  Christ ;  they  did  not  know  what  things  they  were 
that  he  said  to  them.  What  constituted  Christianity  to  those  first 
disciples  was  a  living,  personal  relation  to  Jesus  Christ  himself, 
which  they  perceived  from  the  beginning  to  be  a  different  type 
of  relationship  from  that  which  exists  between  one  man  and 
another  man,  and  which  before  the  three  years  of  their  inter- 
course had  expired  they  understood  in  a  clearer  and  diviner 
form  still. 
The  Lord  of  You  cannot  turn  back  to  the  gospels  and  trace  there  the  rising 

levels  of  the  calls  of  Christ  without  seeing  how  really  the  living 
Christ  himself  was  his  faith  to  those  men.  First  it  was  "Follow 
me ;"  then  it  was  "Come  unto  me ;"  then  it  was  "Learn  of  me ;" 


Life 


CHRIST   OUR    LIVING    LEADER  *      325 

then  it  was  "Abide  in  me ;"  and  then,  last  of  all,  before  he  went 

away — I  say  it  reverently,  because  I  believe  it  is  true — it  was, 

"Be  I."     "As  my  Father  hath  sent  me  into  the  world,  even  so 

send  I  you  into  the  world."     And  when  at  last  he  parted  from 

them  it  was  only  that  he  might  be  forever  and  more  really  with 

them,  in  a  way  removed  now  from  all  the  accidents  of  time  and 

space,  to  be  henceforth,  more  vitally  than  ever  before,  their  living, 

present,  guiding  Saviour. 

I  lay  emphasis  on  this  at  the  beginning — what  I  may  call  the   The  Double- 

double-facedness  of  Christianity.    We  stand  in  the  midst  of  davs  'acedness  of 
1  ,      ,         .  r  r  '       CnriBtianity 

when  the  longmg  of  men  for  livmg  fellowship  with  the  unseen  is 

more  powerful  than  it  has  ever  been.  The  mind  cure.  Christian 
Science,  and  all  that,  are  merely  expressions  of  the  irrepressible 
longing  of  humanity  for  vital  contact  with  the  living  God.  Feel- 
ing runs  wild  without  the  checks  that  can  be  furnished  only  by 
the  actual  historic  facts  out  of  which  religion  sprang  and  back  to 
which  religion  must  always  go  to  correct  itself  of  the  vagaries 
of  the  single  era  or  the  single  mind.  It  is  a  great  thing  about  our 
faith  that  the  light  of  the  knowledge  of  the  glory  of  God  shone 
not  alone  in  a  face  that  was,  but  shines  to-day  in  a  face  that  is ; 
that  we  cannot  alone  go  back  and  check  our  faith  by  the  historic 
revelation  embodied  in  the  history  of  the  first  Christian  century, 
but  that  here  to-day  the  faith  is  living  in  the  midst  of  us.  And  the 
face  that  was  is  the  face  that  is,  and  the  light  of  the  knowledge 
of  the  glory  of  God  that  was  beheld  in  it  by  the  men  who  walked 
with  him  on  earth  may  be  beheld  in  it  still  by  those  of  us  who  will 
walk  with  him  to-day. 

We  are  prone  overmuch  in  these  days  to  take  our  spiritual  Secondhand 
experience  at  second  hand.  Our  fathers  dreamed,  and  we  live  on  Experience 
the  testimony  of  their  vision.  We  are  ever  too  prone  to  go  to 
the  accredited  experience  of  others  instead  of  going  to  Christ  to 
get  our  own  testimony  fresh  from  him.  But  there  is  enough  of 
original  faith  left  in  the  midst  of  us  here  this  evening  for  scores 
in  this  gathering  to  be  able  to  testify,  as  indubitably  as  John  or 
Peter  or  Paul  could  have  testified,  that  the  Christ  who  was  is 
the  Christ  who  is ;  that  he  was  not  all  walled  up  in  Joseph's 
tomb,  but  is  alive  to-day  in  the  experience  of  men.  in  tlieir 
thought,  their  afifections,  their  wills,  as  truly  as  he  ever  has 
been  alive  in  any  past  age.  We  have  in  our  faith  a  living, 
present  Christ. 


326 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


The  Hunger 

for 

Leadership 


The 

Mastership 
of  Christ 


In  the  second  place,  our  religion  is  not  alone  the  religion  of  a 
present,  living  Christ  constituting  the  essence  of  our  faith,  but, 
what  is  just  as  important  in  it,  as  I  have  been  saying,  is  that  Christ 
is  here  to  lead  men,  to  lead  them,  in  living,  conscious  guidance  of 
their  lives  to-day,  and  to  mark  out  for  them  day  by  day,  every 
act,  and  every  path  in  which  their  feet  may  tread.  Every  religion 
that  has  ever  gained  any  mastery  over  the  wills  of  men  has  been 
a  religion  that  supplied  the  deep  hunger  in  the  hearts  of  men  for 
leadership.  Even  where  the  founders  of  great  religions  did  not 
intend  to  exalt  themselves  into  the  place  of  supreme  leadership 
they  have  of  necessity  been  placed  there.  It  was  no  part  of 
Buddha's  idea  that  he  should  be  worshiped  by  those  who  should 
embrace  his  teachings.  Nothing  was  further  from  the  mind  of 
Confucius  than  that  all  over  the  Chinese  empire  millions  of  men 
should  worship  him,  practically  as  a  deity.  And  while  Moham- 
med thought  much  of  himself  he  scarcely  could  have  seen  the 
place  that  his  followers  have  given  him  in  his  religion.  The 
hunger  of  men  to  follow  some  heroic  leader  is  so  deep,  so  irre- 
pressible, that  it  must  break  out  in  every  faith,  and  no  religion 
ever  laid  hold  on  the  hearts  of  men  that  did  not  furnish  them 
with  a  great  sovereign  leadership,  and  no  great  discipleship  has 
ever  existed  in  the  world  that  did  not  find  expression  in  the  most 
loyal  and  complete  following  and  surrender  of  life.  Jesus  de- 
manded this  of  those  who  were  to  follow  him :  "If  any  man  serve 
me,  let  him  follow  me."  "If  any  man  will  come  to  me,  let  him 
deny  himself,  and  take  up  his  cross  daily,  and  follow  me."  He 
understood  that  no  discipleship  was  worthy  of  the  name  that  was 
not  the  utter  surrender  of  the  lives  of  those  who  followed  to  the 
mastery  of  him  who  led.  The  glory  of  our  Christian  faith  is  that 
it  furnishes,  as  no  other  force  in  the  world  has  ever  furnished,  a 
perfect  leadership,  and  the  passion  of  a  great  discipleship. 

I  was  looking  over  the  Greek  concordance  a  little  while  ago  for 
the  dififerent  words  that  are  translated  by  our  English  word 
"Master,"  as  applied  to  Christ.  The  first  of  them  was  just  the 
simple  word  "Teacher,"  the  word  that  those  two  disciples  used 
that  first  day  of  all,  when,  as  they  saw  him  walking,  they  said, 
"Rabbi,"  which  is,  being  interpreted.  Master,  Teacher,  "where 
dwellest  thou?"  It  was  the  word  that  Mary  used  as  she  stood  at 
the  door  of  Christ's  open  tomb,  when  she  said,  "Rabboni" — Mas- 
ter— which  is,  being  interpreted,  Teacher.     Just  above  that  level 


CHRIST   OUR    LIVING    LEADER 


327 


came  the  next,  in  the  word  that  was  used  only  once  by  our  Lord 
himself  in  the  passage,  "Neither  be  ye  called  masters:  for  one  is 
your  Master,  even  Christ."  That  word  literally  means  "Leader" 
— one  who  goes  before,  after  whom  the  company  comes.  On  the 
level  just  above  that  came  the  other  word,  found  only  in  the  gospel 
of  Luke,  six  times  there,  the  word  that  is  used  by  Simon  Peter 
that  night  after  the  fruitless  fishing,  when  he  said,  "Master,  we 
have  toiled  all  night  and  taken  nothing ;  nevertheless  at  thy  word 
I  will  let  down  the  net" — "Overseer"  it  means.  On  the  level 
above  that  is  the  commonest  word  of  them  all,  the  word  that  our 
Lord  uses  in  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  when  he  told  his 
disciples  and  the  people  who  listened  to  him,  "No  man  can  serve 
two  masters :  for  either  he  will  hate  the  one,  and  love  the  other ; 
or  else  he  will  hold  to  the  one,  and  despise  the  other."  And  just 
one  level  above  that  is  the  word  that  Paul  uses  in  the  Epistle  to 
Timothy,  where  he  declares  that  if  a  man  will  purge  himself  from 
the  uncleanness  of  which  he  has  been  speaking  he  may  be  "a 
vessel  unto  honor,  sanctified  and  meet  for  the  Master's  use." 
Despotes  is  the  Greek  word,  the  absolute  authority  over  life. 
Christ  is  Master  of  life  in  an  actual  and  real  sense. 

Our  religion  stands,  my  friends,  in  a  faith  in  a  Christ  who  is  Five  Charac- 
alive,  for  one  thing ;  also  in  a  Christ  who  is  alive  to  lead  the  lives 
of  those  who  love  and  trust  in  him.  But  if  we  ask  ourselves  how 
we  may  be  sure  of  Christ's  leadership  of  our  life,  knowing  that  it 
is  not  our  caprice  or  whim  that  is  guiding  us,  but  Christ's  own 
living  hand  directing  our  life,  I  think  it  will  help  us  if  we  pause 
for  a  moment  to  ask  ourselves  what  the  characteristics  of  Christ's 
leadership  are.  There  are  five  great  characteristics  of  great 
leadership.  It  is  essential  to  truly  great  leadership  that  a  man 
should  have  come  up  from  among  the  midst  of  those  whom  he 
proposes  to  lead — Martin  Luther.  Oliver  Cromwell,  Abraham 
Lincoln,  for  example.  It  is  essential,  in  the  second  place,  that  he 
should  still  be  one  of  them  in  sympathy  and  aflfection,  knowing 
their  lot  and  sharing  it.  There  are  certain  men  in  this  land  who 
claim  to  be  leaders  now,  but  are  not  and  never  will  be ;  men  who 
sit  in  the  comfortable  possession  of  their  millions  and  inveigh 
against  the  conditions  of  life  that  make  millions  possible  as  a 
great  wrong,  although  they  themselves  were  perfectly  willing  to 
take  advantage  of  those  conditions.  A  man  who  would  lead  life 
to-day,  as  in  the  past,  must  be  a  man  who  is  still  in  sympathetic 


teristics  of 

Great 

Leadership 


328 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


Jesus  Christ 
the  Supreme 
Leader 


How  to  Test 
One's  Life 


contact  with  those  whom  he  would  lead ;  a  man  who  believes  in 
his  cause  and  who  is  willing  to  sacrifice  anything  for  his  cause. 
I  don't  know  the  psychology  of  old  John  Brown's  mind,  but  he 
set  before  men  an  example  of  what  it  was  to  believe  in  a  great 
cause  and  be  willing  to  die  for  it ;  and  millions  of  men  marched 
side  by  side  singing  to  John  Brown's  memory,  because  the  spirit 
of  the  old  man  had  been  the  spirit  of  leadership,  belonging  alone 
to  those  who  believe  in  causes  and  are  willing  to  yield  up  their 
lives  that  those  causes  may  live.  A  fourth  characteristic  of  good 
leadership  is  that  a  man's  cause  should  be  a  great  and  worthy 
cause,  something  that  can  touch  and  grasp  the  imagination  A 
fifth  characteristic  is  that  a  man  should  believe  in  the  sure  success 
of  his  cause  with  an  unconquerable  faith, 

I  think  of  Jesus  Christ  as  one  who  combines,  as  no  other  living 
leader  of  men  ever  has  combined,  these  five  great  essentials  of 
leadership.  He  came  up  from  among  us,  having  drunk  out  of 
our  cup,  having  tasted  of  our  infirmities,  having  been  tempted  in 
all  points  like  as  we  are,  fit  therefore  to  be  our  High  Priest  and 
Guide.  He  lives  still  in  the  midst  of  us,  sharing  our  sufferings 
and  enduring  our  pains.  He  believed  in  the  most  splendid  vision 
ever  held  up  before  the  eyes  of  men,  and  he  counted  life  itself  a 
little  thing,  to  be  laid  down  for  the  attainment  of  that  vision.  And 
he  assuredly  believed  that  at  the  end  of  all  the  suffering  and  the 
sacrifice  for  himself  and  for  those  who  were  to  come  after  him 
there  was  absolute  and  certain  victory.  And  if  we  want  to  be 
sure  whether  or  not  we  are  following  in  our  lives  the  living  lead- 
ership of  Jesus  Christ  we  may  test  it  by  applying  to  our  sense  of 
his  mastery  and  guidance  of  our  life  these  tests,  and  by  asking 
ourselves  whether  in  our  own  lives  there  are  present  those  quali- 
ties of  spirit  which  marked  Jesus  Christ  in  his  life,  and  which  will 
mark  all  of  the  life  that  Jesus  Christ  ever  leads  in  the  world,  the 
sense  of  a  great  and  splendid  mission  to  be  performed,  a  mission 
not  optional,  but  obligatory,  not  to  be  stated  in  any  terms  of 
general  philanthropy  or  benevolence,  but  a  mission  of  absolute 
necessity  for  the  redemption  of  the  world.  I  saw  in  one  of  our 
most  evangelical  magazines  the  other  day  a  review  of  a  recent 
book  on  missions  in  which  the  writer  took  the  ground  that  the 
only  fault  to  be  found  with  this  book  was  that  it  set  the  missionary 
spirit  in  an  indefensible  place,  because  it  claimed  for  it  the  right 
to  absolute  precedence  in  every  Christian  heart.     That  was  only 


CHRIST   OUR    LIVING    LEADER  <      329 

the  place  that  Jesus  Christ  assumed  that  it  would  have.  And  if 
we  want  to  be  sure  whether  or  not  in  our  hves  the  mastery  of 
Christ  is  present  we  may  test  it,  for  one  thing,  by  finding  out 
whether  or  not  there  the  mission  of  the  love  of  Christ  for  the 
world  has  the  first  and  consuming  place.  We  may  test  it  by 
asking  whether  that  place  is  so  first  and  consuming  that  we 
despise  every  small  sacrifice  that  may  need  to  be  made  for  the 
sake  of  the  service  of  the  mission,  and  go  out  in  utter  fearlessness 
to  the  great  task  that  lies  before  us  to  do,  hesitating  not  one 
moment  at  any  sacrifice  that  it  demands,  rejoicing  in  all  the  great 
difficulties  and  obstacles  that  need  to  be  overcome.  It  was  said 
of  Glave  by  Stanley  that  he  was  one  of  the  men  who  relish  a  task 
for  its  bigness,  and  who  greet  hard  labor  with  a  fierce  joy.  The 
spirit  which  belongs  to  those  who  follow  the  living  leadership  of 
Jesus  Christ  is  a  spirit  of  utter  fearlessness  of  obstacles  or  im-  A  Spirit  of 
pediments,  whether  they  lie  on  the  mission  field  or  in  lethargy  and  Fearlessness 
carelessness  or  indifference  in  the  Church  at  home.  It  is  a  spirit 
of  utter  fearlessness  of  cavil  and  criticism  and  conventionality, 
of  all  those  costs  and  penalties  that  need  to  be  met  in  the  discharge 
of  any  great  mission ;  the  spirit  that  our  Leader  kindles  in  those 
who  follow  him  in  the  spirit  of  utter  devotion  to  his  cause.  If 
Jesus  Christ,  my  friends,  is  to  be  the  leader  of  our  lives,  believe 
me,  a  great  many  of  those  little  sacrifices  and  self-indulgences  in 
w'hich  we  play  and  by  w^hich  we  coddle  our  souls  out  of  all  the 
courage,  the  heroic  sacrifice  of  Christ's  cause,  will  die  utterly  out 
of  our  lives.  In  his  book  on  The  Varieties  of  Religious  Expe- 
rience Professor  James,  of  Harvard,  in  speaking  of  the  absolute 
necessity  of  our  finding  in  this  day  some  moral  substitute  for  war, 
says  that  the  growth  of  the  spirit  of  Christianity  in  the  world 
makes  it  impossible  for  men  to  go  out  and  openly  kill  one  another 
in  cold  blood  for  nothing  or  to  engage  in  wars  which  have  no 
necessary  place  in  the  creation  of  the  world's  character,  and  yet 
we  need  its  discipline  and  moral  fruits.  What  substitute  can 
be  found  for  it,  unless  it  be  a  sort  of  heroic  sense  of  frugality,  of 
hunger  after  poverty  for  the  sake  of  a  cause  ?  He  is  not  speaking 
of  things  from  a  missionary  point  of  view,  but  if  only  we  could 
revive  again  the  love  of  sacrifice  as  the  Catholic  Church  has  never 
lost  it,  it  would  bring  into  the  missionary  treasury  more  than  it 
could  use  of  money  and  raise  up  men  and  women  who  would 
scorn  selfish  power  and   position  as  secondary  and   unessential 


330 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


Interdenom- 
inational 
Cooperation 


things  while  they  yielded  their  lives  utterly  to  tlie  cause  and  the 
sacrifices  that  it  demands. 

I  cannot  forbear  saying  just  one  word  about  one  other  charac- 
teristic of  Jesus  Christ's  leadership  of  his  people  in  this  great 
warfare.  I  cannot  believe  myself  that  he  would  set  his  brigades 
at  internecine  Avar,  that  he  would  appoint  two  regiments  to  hold 
precisely  the  same  intrenchments,  that  he  would  duplicate  his 
forces  or  waste  life.  And  surely  as  we  go  out  in  the  campaign  of 
this  new  century  we  believe  the  Lord's  leadership  of  his  army  if 
we  do  not  go  as  one  united  host,  with  no  controversy  or  quarrel- 
ing, no  jealousy  or  envy  or  bitterness  among  us,  each  band  willing 
to  do  its  own  work.  What  matter,  after  all,  whether  you  do  it 
or  we  do  it? 

"Others  shall  sing  the  song, 
Others  shall  right  the  wrong. 
Finish  what  I  begin, 
And  all  I  fail  of  win. 


"What  matter  I  or  they, 
Mine  or  another's  day, 
So  the  right  word  be  said, 
And  life  the  sweeter  made." 


A  Sure  and 

Perfect 

Conquest 


I  speak  to  the  young  men  and  the  young  women  of  your  church 
here  this  evening,  in  behalf  of  the  young  men  and  the  young 
women  of  my  own  church.  We  have  got  to  do  this  thing,  if  we 
are  ever  going  to  do  it,  hand  in  hand,  with  the  most  perfect  con- 
fidence and  sympathy.  I  don't  care  v^^hether  you  lead,  or  who 
leads.  If  you  have  the  spirit  of  leadership  in  you,  go  and  lead. 
We  will  follow.  All  that  is  necessary  is  that  those  w^ho  follow  this 
common  Leader  should  follow  him  as  brothers  standing  together ; 
and  everything  that  denies  that  unity  of  campaign,  that  common 
spirit,  denies  also  the  leadership  of  Jesus  Christ. 

One  other  characteristic  of  his  leadership  is  that  absolutely 
nothing  can  stand  in  the  way  of  his  sure  and  perfect  conquest. 
We  listen  to  all  that  Bishop  Thoburn  says,  and  believe  it,  because 
back  of  it  we  feel  a  great  and  an  impregnable  faith.  If  we 
follow  Jesus  Christ  as  the  living  leader  of  life  we  shall  believe 
with  all  our  souls  in  the  absolute  invulnerability  of  this  enterprise 
of  ours  and  the  absolute  certainty  of  its  victory.  It  is  one  ad- 
mirable thing  that   Mr.    Kidd   is   doing  in  his  books,   namely, 


CHRIST    Ol'R    r.U'IXG    LF-ADF-R 


3.V 


convincing  feeble-hearted  Christians,  weak  in  tlieir  coinage,  thai, 
after  all  that  tide  of  power  that  poured  into  the  world  eighteen 
hundred  years  ago  from  the  cross  and  life  of  Jesus  Christ  is  an 
omnipotent  tide  of  power,  and.  though  it  may  -from  age  to  age 
appear  now  and  then  to  stop  in  its  course,  the  absolutely  certain 
end  of  it  all — who  knows  but  the  eyes  of  some  of  us  here  to-night 
may  see  it ! — a  crown  of  glory  upon  the  brow  that  was  once  torn 
with  its  crown  of  thorns,  and  a  world  won. 

I  am  sure  that  many  of  us  here  this  evening  will  find  (lifficuhy 
in  yielding  our  lives  up  to  the  practical,  conduct-controlling  faith 
that  Jesus  Christ  is  now  in  a  living  way  leading  our  lives,  unless 
we  can  understand  something  of  the  mode  of  his  leading  of  us.  1 
believe  he  leads  life  by  our  acceptance  of  the  principles  that  he 
taught.  We  call  this  merely  ethical,  but  it  is  not  right  that  we 
should  surrender  to  those  outside  of  the  Christian  Church  all 
the  power  that  resides  in  the  conviction  that  no  other  force  in 
this  world  is  comparable  with  the  force  which  resides  in  the 
application  to  life  of  the  principles  embodied  in  the  character  and 
teachings  of  Jesus  Christ.  He  leads  men  now  in  proportion  to 
the  fearlessness  with  which  every  day  they  apply  to  their  lives  the 
principles  of  Jesus  Christ  'n  their  conduct  with  men  and  women 
at  home,  in  all  the  social  relations  of  their  life.  Believe  me,  it  is 
a  far  harder  thing  than  we  know.  Some  who  have  felt  very 
pious  here  in  this  Convention  will  get  mad  at  a  porter  on  the  way 
home.  Many  a  man  who  has  been  lifted  to  the  seventh  heaven 
in  some  holiness  meeting  has  gone  home  to  be  petulant  and 
irritable  with  his  little  children.  The  solid  application  of  the 
simple  principles  of  Jesus  Christ  to  honest  living  is  a  far  harder 
thing  than  we  know;  and  we  should  see  more  visions  in  the 
seventh  heaven  if  we  lived  an  honester  life  on  the  plane  where 
Christ's  simple  principles  come  home  to  practical  application  in 
daily  living,  and  should  discern  his  leadership  more  clearly. 

He  guides  us  also  by  his  providence  in  the  world.  I  read  war 
in  terms  of  the  guiding  hand  of  Jesus  Christ.  War  after  war  has 
been  fought  in  this  world.  Men  fight  for  their  own  ambition,  to 
overthrow  thrones  and  to  uphold  them.  We  know,  as  we  read 
them  now  in  the  light  from  the  face  of  Christ,  that  all  these 
things  only  play  into  his  great  purposes  in  the  world,  and  that  by 
every  contingency,  every  upheaval  of  human  life,  Christ  Jesus  is 
guiding  us  a  little  more  clearly  to  his  certain  goal.    He  guides  us 


Chriat's 
Mode  of 
Leading 


A  Guiding 
Providence 


332 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


Convictions 
Formed  in 
Prayer 


Environment 
and  Tradition 


by  more  supernatural  ways  than  these — by  his  hfe  abiding  in  the 
souls  of  men  as  truly  as  it  abode  in  the  soul  of  Paul ;  by  the  super- 
natural intervention  of  his  Spirit  in  this  and  that  decision  of  life. 
Surely  we  would  not  exclude  the  present  intervention  of  the 
Spirit  of  God  in  the  lives  of  men.  We  may  interpret  it  in  different 
ways.  I  think  it  is  ministered  to  us  far  more  than  we  are  willing 
to  see,  by  negative  guidance.  It  was  no  direct  and  positive  lead- 
ing that  took  Paul  down  to  where  he  got  his  call  over  into 
Macedonia.  "They  were  forbidden  of  the  Holy  Ghost  to  preach 
the  word  in  Asia.  After  they  were  come  to  Mysia,  they  essayed 
to  go  into  Bithynia :  and  the  Spirit  suffered  them  not."  And  so 
by  means  of  negative  guidance  Paul  moved  right  down  to  where 
the  man  of  Macedonia  waited  for  him.  If  we  were  only  moved 
like  Paul  we  would  get  nearer  to  the  mission  field.  If  we  were 
only  willing  to  start  when  the  Spirit  of  God  impels,  and  try  this 
door  and  that  door,  until  at  last  we  come  to  the  spot  where  the 
vision  stands,  we  should  see  as  Paul  saw. 

I  believe  that  every  right  conviction  formed  in  prayer  is  the 
supernatural  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  Ransom  Dunn,  one  of  the 
greatest  Free  Baptist  ministers  of  the  country,  when  asked, 
"What  supernatural  evidences  have  you  that  you  are  called  to 
the  ministry?"  replied,  "I  have  a  deep  and  settled  conviction  that 
it  is  a  duty,  and  I  believe  it  is  the  Holy  Spirit  that  produces  this 
conviction."  If  only  more  of  us  would  believe  that  in  these  ways 
the  Holy  Spirit  can  make  plain  to  us  the  guidance  of  Christ  more 
of  us  would  be  following  that  guidance  into  positions  of  heroism 
and  difficulty,  and  would  be  waging  that  war  in  which  the  Leader 
whom  we  follow  would  fain  direct  us,  where  it  needs  most  to  be 
waged. 

I  make  room  in  my  own  thought  of  the  guidance  of  Jesus 
Christ  for  his  broad  play  upon  the  thoughts  and  feelings  of  men. 
There  is  not  an  independent  man  in  this  house  to-night.  Each 
one  of  us  is  shaped  far  more  than  we  know  by  environment  and 
tradition.  One  of  the  active  minds  of  his  Church,  Professor  Nash, 
of  Cambridge,  is  reported  to  have  said  the  other  day  in  the 
Church  Congress  at  Albany  that  he  regarded  himself  as  one 
twentieth  independent,  and  the  other  nineteen  twentieths  as  caught 
in  the  grip  of  great  movements  from  which  he  could  not  hold  him- 
self free.  I  think  as  I  do  because  my  father  felt  and  thought  as 
he  did,  because  the  stream  of  tradition  is  carrying  me,  uncon- 


CPIRIST   OUR   Ln'ING    LEADER 


323 


Consciousness 
of  Present 


sciously  to  myself,  in  a  certain  direction.  I  rejoice  to  believe 
that  the  guidance  of  Jesus  Christ  embraces  these  great  tendencies 
of  which  we  are  not  aware,  that  far  and  wide,  all  over  the  world, 
he  is  molding  the  thoughts  of  men,  creating  a  better  air  for  us,  a 
cleaner  atmosphere  to  breathe,  making  for  us  a  new  position 
from  which  we  will  be  lifted  up  to  heroisms  which  we  would 
never  for  ourselves  choose  by  sheer  will.  In  one  way  or  another, 
the  Christ  who  has  lived  and  lives  would  lead  every  one  of  us 
vitally  in  the  service  in  which  he  moves  on  ahead  of  us. 

What  I  have  to  say  this  evening  would  not  be  complete  if  I 
should  not  say  in  closing  that  I  believe  it  is  possible  for  us  to  be 
conscious  of  the  present  guidance  of  the  living  Christ  as  truly  as  Guidance 
of  the  presence  one  of  another  here  in  this  room  to-night.  I  have 
been  going  over  this  last  summer  some  of  the  letters  of  George 
Bowen,  whom  William  Taylor  called  "the  lamb  of  India,"  a  man, 
as  you  know,  of  rare  and  saintly  godliness  of  character,  wdiose 
memory  lingers  still  in  the  hearts  of  thousands  throughout  the 
world  as  a  sweet  influence  and  power,  a  reflection  of  the  face  and 
character  of  Jesus  Christ  himself.  The  power  of  his  life,  the 
secret  of  its  holiness  and  of  its  strength,  lay  in  his  unbroken  con- 
sciousness of  the  presence  of  the  living,  leading  Christ  with  him 
day  by  day.  Of  what  good  is  our  Gospel,  after  all,  if  it  does  not 
run  like  a  fire  in  the  blood  of  our  souls?  Of  what  good  is  it  if 
every  day  we  cannot  abide  in  the  living,  life-molding  character, 
power,  and  dominion  of  it?  If  Jesus  Christ  is  alive,  surely  I  may 
know  that  he  is  alive;  if  he  is  alive,  I  may  know  that  he 
is  alive  to  lead  me,  and  may  yield  my  life  up,  not  alone 
to  a  sort  of  dim  faith  that  he  is,  after  all,  overruling  all  the 
aims  of  our  human  living  to  his  own  divine  ends,  but  a  vital, 
present,  abiding  consciousness  that  he  is  with  me,  shaping  every 
moment  of  my  day,  and  gathering  my  life  on  to  his  goal  for  it. 
Surely  I  may  live  and  make  it  my  joy  to  live  in  the  unbroken 
consciousness  of  his  presence. 

I  came  through  the  long  city  tunnel  on  tlie  New  York  Central 
Railroad  a  week  or  two  ago  with  a  lawyer  of  New  York  city,  and 
we  fell  to  discussing,  as  the  train  ran  into  the  tunnel,  the  pres- 
ence of  God  with  men;  and  he  quoted  to  me  some  lines  that 
I  had  never  heard  before,  by  an  English  poet  of  the  eighteenth 
century,  that  convey  the  thought  that  is  in  my  mind  in  this  last 
moment : 


The  Presence 
of  God  with 
Men 


334  THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 

"I  gaze  aloof  at  the  tissued  roof 
Where  time  and  space  are  the  warp  and  woof; 
Which  the  King  of  kings  Hke  a  curtain  flings 
O'er  the  dreadfulness  of  eternal  things, 

"But  if  I  could  see  as  in  truth  they  be 
The  glories  that  encircle  me, 
I  should  lightly  hold  this  tissued  fold, 
With  its  marvelous  curtain  of  blue  and  gold; 

"For  soon  the  whole,  like  a  parched  scroll, 
Shall  before  my  amazed  eyes  uproll ; 
And,  without  a  screen,  at  one  burst  be  seen 
The  Presence  in  which  I  have  always  been." 

Into  that  Presence  this  last  hour  let  us  quietly  creep,  to  feel 
afresh  before  we  go  the  living  nearness  of  our  ever-present  Lord, 
and  begin  anew  to  realize  in  our  experience  what  was  the  core 
The  and  the  secret  of  the  experience  of  Paul,    The  words  are  familiar, 

Experience  of  |^,^|-  y^^e,  alas!  is  the  honest  realization  of  them  in  daily  living:  "I 
am  crucified  with  Christ :  nevertheless  1  live ;  yet  not  I,  but  Christ 
liveth  in  me:  and  the  life  which  I  now  live  in  the  flesh  I  live  by 
the  faith  of  the  Son  of  God,  who  loved  me,  and  gave  himself  for 
me."  In  that  experience  as  a  reality  let  us,  my  friends,  anew, 
love  him  and  his,  and  give  ourselves  up  to  his  leadership,  follow- 
ing in  his  footsteps,  forever ! 


THE   CLOSING  ADDRESS 

Bishop  James   M.   Thoburn 

I  greatly  enjoyed  the  address  to  which  you  have  just  been 
listening.  All  day  long  my  thoughts  have  turned  in  the  same 
channel.  I  knew  I  should  have  to  speak  to  you  for  five  or  eight 
minutes  this  evening,  and  when  I  asked  in  my  heart  what  should 
be  my  words  the  one  thought  that  always  presented  itself  was  that 
Jesus  Christ,  our  living  Leader,  had  brought  us  together  and 
would  assume  the  leadership  of  this  present  movement. 
A  New  Era  I  believe  every  word  to  which  you  have  been  listening.    I  have 

known  these  things  familiarly  for  many  years ;  and  I  would  to 
God  that  the  great  truth  might  not  only  be  written  anew  upon 
our  hearts,  but  that  we  might  realize  it  in  our  inmost  souls  as  a 


CLOSING   ADDRESS  4    335 

personal  experience.  It  seems  to  me  that  we  have  reached  a  new 
era  in  the  history  of  our  Church.  I  beUeve  that  is  a  very  common 
conviction  among  all  our  people  who  have  assembled  here.  I  see 
realized  to-night  one  thing  which  I  have  been  thinking  of  and 
praying  for,  longing  for,  for  more  than  thirty  years,  something 
which  should  touch  the  hearts  of  hundreds  of  thousands  of  our 
people,  and  lay  upon  them  a  sense  of  personal  responsibility  in 
respect  to  this  great  work  of  going  forth  to  bring  the  nations  to 
Christ.  In  order  to  accomplish  this  we  must  be  able  to  realize  in 
our  hearts  that  Christ  is  with  us.  that  we  know  in  whom  we  have 
believed.  Through  these  many  years  that  I  have  lieen  in  strange 
lands  I  never  could  have  attempted  certain  tasks  if  it  had  not  been 
that  I  believed  and  knew  that  Jesus  Christ  was  by  my  side. 
There  are  many  things  which  I  doubt,  in  which  I  find  myself 
perplexed;  but  for  many  years  there  has  never  been  any  doubt 
whatever  concerning  this  fact.  Time  and  again  the  risen  Son  of 
God  has  spoken  to  me  in  terms  which  could  not  be  misunderstood. 
And  while  I  may  be  mistaken  in  a  letter  or  a  book  which  I  read, 
or  in  my  own  thought,  there  is  such  a  thing  as  certainty  that 
comes  to  the  inmost  soul  concerning  which  tliere  is  no  room  for 
doubt. 

Now,  this  is  what  the  Church  needs  to-day  in  connection  witli  Preaching 
the  great  missionary  movement.  We  do  not  go  abroad  to  teach  *^®  ^^"^* 
a  new  religion,  but  to  introduce  a  Teacher  of  the  new  religion, 
for,  as  you  have  heard  to-night,  the  two  are  inseparable.  We 
go  not  to  preach  our  Bible  or  our  Church  :  not  our  religious  ideas 
or  our  interminable  theologies,  l)ut  we  go  to  preach  the  Christ. 
And,  if  so,  we  should  do  it  practically.  If  1  speak  to  a  man  who 
is  suffering  from  illness,  and  say  I  know  a  physician  of  great 
skill  and  wonderful  success,  who  is  witlun  call  and  will  come  to 
him,  I  must  be  prepared  to  bring  that  physician  to  him  if  he  asks 
for  him.  We  should  assume  that  when  we  proclaim  Christ  to  a 
blinded,  darkened,  perishing  nation  we  know  the  One  we  are 
talking  about,  and  that  when  we  proclaim  him  as  a  present 
Saviour  we  can  bring  him  to  the  person,  and  bring  the  person  to 
him.  You  may  say.  How  can  we  do  both?  It  is  perfectly  simple, 
because  we  know  both.  If  we  do  know  Jesus  Christ  the  same 
Spirit  that  reveals  him  to  us  is  working  in  the  heart  of  the  other, 
and  by  the  Holy  Spirit  the  living  Christ  will  be  revealed  to  him. 

And  then,  in  all  the  great  movements  in  which  wc  arc  engaged, 


336 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


Personal 

Experience 

Needed 


The  Touch 
of  the 
Master 


we  need  all  the  time  to  have  this  blessed  assurance,  and  such  a 
manifestation  of  his  presence  with  us  that  we  shall  be  prepared 
to  take  up  the  tasks  he  assigns.  We  hear  constantly  of  theories ; 
what  we  want  now  is  knowledge,  personal  experience.  Some  one 
says :  "Do  you  believe,  can  it  ever  have  been  true,  that  this  person 
called  Jesus  of  Nazareth  once  walked  across  the  stormy  waves? 
The  thing  is  inconceivable."  My  reply  is  that  I  know  what  it  is 
to  find  myself  sinking  in  stormy  waves,  with  a  leaden  sky  over- 
head, raging  winds  around,  great  waves  ready  to  overwhelm. 
And  there  have  been  times  when,  perhaps  in  the  first  gloaming  of 
the  morning,  I  have  seen  the  form  of  One  coming  across  the 
waves.  We  always  recognize  the  form  that  is  revealed  to  us  by 
the  Spirit  of  God ;  and  when  I  look  to  him  and  do  not  make  the 
mistake  of  Peter,  I  discover  that  my  feet  are  standing  upon  a 
foundation  that  is  as  firm  as  the  mountain  rock,  and,  while  the 
waves  have  sunken  down  into  silence  again,  I  find  that  the  Son 
of  God  has  grasped  my  helpless  hand  and  bids  me  walk  anew  by 
his  side. 

In  a  very  few  weeks  your  noon  will  be  my  midnight.  You  will 
gather  in  your  places  of  worship  from  day  to  day  and  lift  your 
hearts  to  God  in  that  hallowed  Name.  But  Jesus  will  be  as  near 
to  me  over  on  the  other  side  of  the  globe  as  he  will  be  to  you  here, 
and  he  will  be  the  very  same  Jesus.  It  is  he  who  has  inspired  us 
to  engage  in  this  movement ;  it  is  he  who  has  guided  these 
brethren  in  making  their  plans ;  it  is  he  who  has  put  it  into  the 
hearts  of  people  to  give  of  their  substance  for  carrying  on  this 
work — he  who  is  touching  the  hearts  of  men  and  women  in  this 
meeting  and  moving  them  to  go  far  hence  to  the  Gentiles  of  our 
modern  world.  It  is  he  who  has  taken  up  the  work  of  making 
this  world  a  Christian  world,  and  he  shall  never  fail  or  be  dis- 
couraged until  he  shall  have  set  judgment  in  the  earth.  We  have 
set  our  face  to  the  front,  and  we  shall  never  look  back.  The 
days  will  hasten  on,  and  they  will  soon  be  moving  with  a  speed 
we  must  now  fail  to  note,  when  there  will  be  steady,  rapid,  uni- 
versal progress  of  the  kingdom  of  God  among  the  nations,  until 
the  last  grand  hour  shall  come,  when  men  and  angels  shall  join 
in  the  great  doxology  that  the  kingdoms  of  this  world  have 
become  the  kingdoms  of  our  Lord  and  of  his  Christ,  that  he  may 
reign  forever  and  forever. 

I  do  not  wish  to  mar  the  good  feeling  of  the  moment,  but 


CLOSING   ADDRESS  ^    337 

before  I  take  my  seat  I  want  to  urge  you,  brethren  and  sisters.  Furthering  a 
to  carry  on  this  good  work  which  has  just  been  commenced.  God  Work  only 
put  it  into  the  heart  of  one  of  your  Cleveland  citizens  to-day  to 
join  me  in  a  little  walk  not  very  far  from  this  spot ;  and  he  said 
to  me,  "I  want  to  become  responsible  for  the  support  of  fifty 
pastor-teachers  in  your  field  in  India.  I  want  to  support  them 
for  five  years."  That  is  seven  thousand  five  hundred  dollars.  He 
told  me  not  to  tell  his  name,  and  I  remarked  to  him  that  in  the 
city  of  Cleveland  I  didn't  tliink  it  was  necessary  to  tell  his  name. 
Since  I  took  my  seat  upon  the  platform  I  have  heard  it  said  that 
New  York  was  a  disappointment  in  this  movement.  You  don't 
know  New  York  yet.  A  citizen  of  that  city  came  to  me  a  few 
minutes  ago  and  said,  "I  want  to  give  five  hundred  dollars  a  year 
for  five  years,"  and  I  replied,  "We  can  accommodate  you."  That 
amounts  to  how  much?  Two  thousand  five  hundred  dollars. 
And  you  add  these  two  gifts  together  and  you  have  ten  thousand 
dollars  to-day,  and  two  thousand  five  hundred  more  reported 
here.  Mark  my  words — somebody  has  said  that  I  sometimes 
speak  in  a  prophetic  tone — if  you  carry  this  movement  forward 
this  is  going  to  be  the  inauguration  of  the  greatest  revival,  not  of 
what  the  Methodists  used  to  call  "religion,"  but  of  Christ's  salva- 
tion, that  the  United  States  of  America  has  ever  seen.  God 
bless  you ! 
22 


THE    SECTION    CONFERENCES 


An  Inspiring 
Beoord 


Equipment 
for  Service 


THE   WOMAN'S    FOREIGN    MISSIONARY 
SOCIETY— ITS  EQUIPMENT  AND  OUTLOOK 

Mrs.  J.   T.   Gracey 

The  Woman's  Foreign  Missionary  Society  is  just  closing  the 
thirty-third  year  of  its  existence.  Its  record  is  inspiring.  Its 
history  is  to  be  the  heritage  of  the  Church.  Its  Hues  have  gone 
cut  unto  the  ends  of  the  earth.  To  multitudes  of  human  hearts 
it  has  been  the  agency  of  making  known  the  life  and  love  of 
Jesus  Christ.  His  love,  the  only  motive  power  strong  enough  to 
thrust  forth  to  a  life-service,  was  the  prevailing  power  that  in- 
fluenced the  women  of  Methodism  to  unite  for  this  sublimest  and 
divinest  errand.  To  all  who  have  carefully  looked  into  the  work- 
ings it  is  an  astonishment  that  such  results  have  been  reached  in 
so  few  years.  The  principle  of  life,  God's  life  and  power,  has 
been  in  it,  which  is  the  great  secret  of  success.  No  faith  was 
strong  enough  to  grasp  the  results  which  we  are  permitted  to 
see  to-day. 

The  society  has  a  magnificent  equipment  for  the  service,  both 
at  home  and  abroad.  First,  it  is  loyal  to  God  and  to  the  Church. 
Secondly,  it  has  a  complete  and  efficient  organization,  a  thorough 
financial  system,  excellent  business  methods,  a  trained  and  de- 
voted constituency,  and  high  character  in  its  officers  and  leaders, 
its  literary  and  educational  system,  its  family  of  periodicals,  and 
its  systematic  course  of  study  of  mission  fields.  Abroad  it  has  an 
equipment  in  the  life,  character,  and  influence  of  its  missionaries, 
assistant  missionaries,  and  teachers ;  in  the  development  and 
power  of  its  medical  work  for  women ;  in  the  ability  and  popu- 
larity of  its  physicians,  American  and  native ;  in  its  finely 
equipped  hospitals  and  dispensaries ;  in  its  schools  of  all  grades 
from  kindergarten  to  college ;  in  its  orphanages,  homes,  and  build- 
ings ;  in  its  thousand  pupils  under  instruction,  its  thousand  and 
more  Bible  readers,  its  general  benevolent  work,  and  the  hearty, 


WOMAN  S    FOREIGN    MISSIONARY    SOCIETY  339 

helpful  sympathy  of  governments  under  which  our  missionaries 
perform  their  work. 

In  organization  at  home  the  society  follows  both  geographical  Plan  of 
and  Church  lines.  It  is  composed  of  eleven  coordinate  branches,  Organization 
entirely  independent  of  each  other,  and  yet  parts  of  a  great  whole. 
Each  of  these  branches  has  a  corresponding  secretary  who  has 
the  general  supervision  of  all  the  work  in  her  branch.  Each 
Annual  Conference  has  a  secretary.  Each  presiding  elder's  dis- 
trict is  organized,  hence  there  is  an  immediate  and  direct  connec- 
tion between  the  auxiliaries,  which  report  to  the  district ;  the 
district,  which  reports  to  the  Conference ;  the  Conference,  wliich 
reports  to  the  Branch ;  and  the  Branch,  which  reports  to  the 
General  Executive  Committee.  Close,  intimate,  and  vital  is  this 
connection  between  the  several  parts.  The  management  and 
general  administration  of  the  affairs  are  vested  in  a  General 
Executive  Committee,  which  committee  is  composed  of  the 
Branch  corresponding  secretary  and  two  delegates  from  each 
Branch  elected  at  the  Branch  annual  meeting.  This  committee  is 
the  supreme  authority  to  which  all  matters  are  referred  from  the 
Branches.  This  committee  investigates  the  financial  conditions, 
appropriates  all  moneys  raised,  devises  methods  for  carrying  for- 
ward the  work,  determines  the  amount  of  money  to  be  raised, 
employs  missionaries,  designates  their  fields  of  labor,  carefully 
scrutinizes  all  details  on  the  various  fields,  and  has  supervision 
of  all  the  publishing  interests. 

It  has  been  thought  by  some  that  this  system  of  Branches,   Pervasive  and 
covering  so  much  territory,  and  superintended  by  so  many  secre-   unitv°"^°^ 
taries,  must  be  somewhat  confusing,  and  lead  to  independence  of 
action,  but  through  the  entire  history  of  the  years,  with  all  the 
diversity  of  opinion,  there  has  been  unity  of  thought  and  purpose, 
unity  of  spirit  and  action,  and  unity  of  administration. 

The  society  has  an  equipment  in  its  general  financial  system. 
Its  annual  membership  fees  give  it  a  reliable  income,  which  is 
enhanced  by  bequests,  life  memberships,  special  donations,  annual 
thank  offerings,  contents  of  mite  boxes,  etc.  But  another  recog- 
nized factor  is  the  condition  of  membership,  which  is  "two  cents 
a  week  and  a  prayer."  the  prayer  to  be  at  least  as  frequent  as  the 
contribution. 

In  the  first   decade  the   society   raised   $574,706;    the   second   Record  of 
decade  the  amount  increased  to  $1,598,424;   the  third  to  $2,916,- 


340  THE   CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 

378.  The  income  for  each  of  the  first  two  years  of  the  fourth 
decade  has  exceeded  $400,000.  Since  the  organization  of  the 
society  $5,881,000  has  come  into  the  treasury.  This  has  been 
collected  and  disbursed  by  unsalaried  officers,  and  every  dollar 
raised  for  missionary  purposes  is  so  appropriated. 

When  the  Church  decided  to  raise  a  thank  offering  of  $20,000,- 
000,  the  Woman's  Foreign  Missionary  Society  entered  with  en- 
thusiasm into  the  project,  and  decided  to  raise  $200,000  which 
should  be  devoted  to  purchase  of  lands,  buildings,  and  endow- 
ments. Not  only  was  the  $200,000  raised  and  paid  into  the 
treasury,  but  $26,000  above  and  beyond  the  amount  pledged. 
Adding  the  gift  to  Folts  Missionary  Training  Institute,  located 
at  Herkimer,  New  York,  valued  at  $175,000,  the  grand  total  of 
thank  offering  makes  $401,000. 

The  real  estate  in  the  various  countries,  consisting  of  houses 
for  missionaries,  boarding  schools,  colleges,  hospitals,  dispen- 
saries, orphanages,  etc.,  amounts  to  nearly  a  million  dollars. 
Literature  of  From  its  inception  the  society  has  made  rich  provision  for  fresh, 
ocie  y  inspiring  missionary  literature,  conscious  that  an  informed  society 
will  be  a  transformed  society,  and  that  missionary  zeal  and  en- 
thusiasm must  be  based  on  an  intelligent  comprehension  of  the 
world's  need.  It  has  a  family  of  papers  for  old  and  young,  for  its 
English  and  German  constituency. 

The  Woman's  Missionary  Friend,  grown  from  four  to  forty 
pages,  so  full  of  information,  so  rich  in  its  presentation  of  every 
phase  of  mission  work,  has  now  23,582  subscribers.  Some  mis- 
sionary magazines  live  only  for  a  short  time,  but  the  Woman's 
Foreign  Missionary  Society  has  never  had  a  death  in  its  literary 
family.  This  magazine  has  a  record.  It  has  been  so  wisely 
managed  that  it  has  not  only  paid  all  its  own  expenses,  but  has 
contributed  a  fund  toward  supplying  other  literature.  In  the 
thirty-two  years  it  has  paid  over  from  its  earnings  $34,257  to 
meet  the  expenses  of  printing  other  literature,  or  over  $1,700  a 
year. 

The  German  Friend  is  the  only  distinctively  missionary  paper 
in  German  in  the  Methodist  Church  in  this  country,  and  the  only 
German  paper  edited  by  a  woman.  Of  its  4,199  subscribers,  a 
part  are  in  Germany  and  Switzerland  and  a  part  in  the  United 
States,  The  editor,  I  regret  to  say,  has  died  since  this  Convention 
has  been  in  progress. 


WOMAN  S    FOREIGN    MISSIOXAm'    SOCIETY  4    34I 

For  thirteen  years  an  illustrated  monthly  missionary  paper  for 
children  has  been  issued,  the  only  foreign  missionary  paper  for 
children  in  the  Methodist  Church.  This  has  a  circulation  of 
27,128  copies,  and  is  very  popular  with  the  little  folks. 

As  early  as.  1879  a  system  of  mission   studies  and   uniform   Mission 
readings  was  arranged  for,  and  through  all  the  following  years  studies  and 
this  system  has  been  kept  up  in  the  au.xiliary  societies.    As  an  aid   Readings 
to  this  a  monthly  leaflet  of  four  pages  called  The  Study  is  pub- 
lished, which  now  has  34,122  subscribers.     Thus  it  will  be  seen 
that  this  society  issues  every  month  89,031  missionary  periodicals, 
or  1,057,712  copies  annually,  or  over  67,000,000  pages  of  period- 
ical   literature.     This    is    quite    distinct    from   the    miscellaneous 
literature,  such  as  leaflets,  biographical  sketches,  booklets,  annual 
reports,  maps,  calendars,  etc.,  of  which  millions  of  pages  are  sent 
out  annually.    These  figures  may  or  may«not  convey  to  our  minds 
a  clear  idea  of  what  the  society  is  doing,  but  in  the  presence  of 
these  facts  is  not  the  society  to  be  considered  a  prominent  factor  in 
furnishing  missionary  information  to  the  Church? 

But  these  efforts  to  provide  literature  are  not  confined  to  our  Literature  in 
own  country.  Realizing  the  great  need  that  exists  in  India  for  a  ^ang^uages 
Christian  literature  for  women,  the  society  early  in  its  history 
arranged  to  issue  a  Christian  illustrated  paper  for  women  who 
had  come  out  from  heathenism  and  were  receiving  Christian  in- 
struction. For  this  purpose  an  endowment  of  $25,000  was  raised. 
This  is  called  The  Woman's  Friend,  and  five  editions  in  diflferent 
dialects  are  now  issued,  reaching  thousands  of  women  in  their 
seclusion,  giving  them  a  touch  of  life  from  the  outside  world. 

There  has  been  established  in  Japan  also  a  monthly  illustrated 
magazine  for  Christian  women  called  The  Tokkva.  It  is  almost 
impossible  to  meet  the  constantly  growing  demand  in  Japan  for 
all  forms  of  Christian  literature.  One  of  the  society's  missionaries 
has  been  appointed  to  edit  this  magazine,  and  to  edit  other  litera- 
ture especially  adapted  to  women  and  girls.  This  is  the  only 
instance,  we  believe,  of  any  missionary  society  appointing  a 
woman  to  exclusively  literary  work. 

For  some  time  a  plan  was  contemplated  in  which  to  unite  all  United  study 
Women's  Boards  of  Missions  in  the  United  States  and  Canada  in 
a  more  thorough  study  of  missions.     This  took  definite  form  at 
the  Ecumenical  Missionary  Conference  in  New  York.    The  matter 
was  very  thoroughly  discussed,  and  a  committee  was  appointed 


342 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


with  discretionary  power  to  plan  such  a  course,  which  should  ex- 
tend over  several  years.  This  committee  represented  five  leading 
denominations,  namely,  the  Congregational,  Methodist  Episcopal, 
Baptist,  Presbyterian,  and  Protestant  Episcopal. 
"ViaChristi"  The  first  course  in  the  regular  series  was  introductory  and 
historical,  concerning  the  progress  of  missions  from  apostolic  time 
to  the  close  of  the  eighteenth  century,  entitled  "An  Introduction 
to  the  Study  of  Missions."  A  text-book,  Via  Christi,  the  first 
of  the  series,  to  aid  in  the  development  and  elucidation  of  the  out- 
lined course  was  prepared  by  a  Methodist,  Louise  Manning  Hodg- 
kins,  editor  of  the  Woman's  Missionary  Friend.  This  course 
with  its  text-book  accompaniment  has  been  taken  up  with  great 
enthusiasm  by  more  than  forty  Women's  Boards  in  the  United 
States,  Canada,  and  by  some  in  Great  Britain.  This  first  year's 
work  was  taken  as  fundamental  and  preparatory  to  a  course  to 
follow  on  the  different  fields.  Via  Christi  was  issued  just  about 
a  year  ago,  and  thirty-five  thousand  copies  have  been  sold,  an 
unprecedented  record  for  a  missionary  book.  Ten  missionary 
magazines  are  publishing  outlines  of  this  study,  and  about  a 
million  women  are  engaged  in  following  this  plan  each  month. 
Secular  as  well  as  religious  periodicals  have  united  in  the  state- 
ment that  this  new  scheme  of  study,  with  the  text-book,  is  the 
greatest  missionary  movement  of  the  day. 

Another  text-book  for  1903  has  just  been  issued  called  Lux 
Christi,  or  an  outline  study  of  India.  India  is  presented  as  the 
first  in  the  series  of  countries,  because  India  was  the  first  field  of 
Anglo-Saxon  Protestant  missions,  and  by  reason  of  the  seclusion 
and  oppression  of  the  women  is  preeminently  the  field  of  woman's 
missionary  work.  This  book  is  an  outline,  a  condensed  summary 
of  conditions  and  missions  in  India.  Lux  Christi  was  prepared 
by  a  prominent  well-known  writer,  Mrs.  Caroline  Atwater  Mason, 
connected  with  the  Baptist  Church. 

Young  people  of  all  ages,  from  the  cradle  roll  to  the  mission 
band  and  the  young  woman's  society,  are  being  trained  for  service. 
The  most  recent  organization  is  known  as  "The  Standard  Bear- 
ers," the  object  of  which  is  to  support  its  own  missionaries  in 
the  field,  and  thus  establish  a  personal  relation  between  those  who 
give  and  the  missionaries.  Though  so  recently  organized,  there 
are  over  ten  thousand  enlisted,  supporting  seven  missionaries. 
This  movement  has  extended  to  Germany. 


"Lux  Christi' 


The  Standard 
Bearers 


WOMAN  S    FOREIGN    MISSIONARY    SOCIETY  *     343 

The  society's  work  is  located  in  Africa  (the  southeast  and 
west  coasts),  in  Bulgaria,  in  North,  South,  West,  and  Central 
China,  in  India,  from  the  border  of  Thibet  to  the  extreme  south, 
in  all  of  the  five  Annual  Conferences;  Burma,  Italy,  Korea, 
Mexico,  Malaysia,  South  America,  Japan,  and  the  Philippines  and 
Loochoo  Islands. 

The  society  has  an  equipment  in  its  staff  of  two  hundred  and  StaflFof 
twenty-six  missionaries  now  in  active  service,  and  in  the  power  *^""°°*"«' 
and  influence  of  those  who  have  been  identified  with  it  during 
these  thirty-three  years,  numbering  nearly  four  hundred.  Four 
missionaries  are  self-supporting,  giving  not  only  their  time,  but 
their  substance  to  the  cause.  Many  of  these  women  have  honored 
God,  the  Church,  and  their  society  by  their  heroic  devotion,  by 
their  loving  sympathy,  their  saintly  lives,  and  in  every  land  where 
they  have  labored  have  built  themselves  monuments  in  the  hearts 
of  the  girls  they  have  taught,  and  of  the  women  they  have  been 
instrumental  in  elevating. 

Notably  has  the  society  an  equipment  in  its  medical  work.  The 
ministry  of  healing  in  the  Orient  has  entered  the  home,  and  now 
the  heart,  and  has  added  new  meaning  and  power  to  the  message 
of  salvation,  and  is  an  incontrovertible  evidence  of  Christianity 
and  the  message  of  salvation. 

This  society  inaugurated  woman's  medical  work  in  the  East,  Medical 
and  through  its  influence  the  Lady  Dufferin  movement  in  India  ^°^*^ 
was  made  possible,  which  is  now  such  a  recognized  power.  Now 
every  well-regulated  mission  has  its  woman's  medical  work  and 
hospitals,  etc.  Twenty-two  physicians  of  this  society  are  now  en- 
gaged in  China,  India,  and  Korea.  Seventy  hospitals  and  dis- 
pensaries are  great  centers,  and  our  physicians  treat  annually  < 
about  one  hundred  thousand  patients.  During  the  past  year  two 
beautiful  and  commodious  hospitals  for  women  have  been  opened, 
one  in  Kiukiang.  Central  China,  the  gift  of  Dr.  Danforth.  of  Chi- 
cago, in  memory  of  his  wife.  The  occasion  of  its  opening  was  a 
notable  one.  There  were  present  a  number  of  Chinese  ladies  of 
rank,  and  many  leading  officials  and  the  British  consul  and 
American  vice  consul  of  Nanking  made  addresses.  Two  Chinese 
women,  educated  by  this  society,  graduates  of  Ann  Arbor,  are  the 
jihysicians  in  charge.  These  native  physicians  have  treated  over 
eight  thousand  patients  in  the  hospitals  this  first  year. 

In  Chungking,  that  far-away  outpost  in  western  China,  there 


Work 


344  THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 

has  been  dedicated  another  hospital,  the  WilHam  Gamble  Me- 
morial. This  was  formally  dedicated  in  February.  Many  dis- 
tinguished persons  and  Chinese  officials  were  present,  and  an 
address  was  delivered  by  the  governor  of  the  province.  This  is 
the  only  foreign  building  in  western  China  used  exclusively  for 
women,  and  is  the  largest  and  best  equipped  in  the  Yang-tse 
valley  outside  of  the  city  of  Shanghai. 
Educational  In  educational  equipment  the  Woman's   Foreign   Missionary 

Society  is  one  of  the  leading  missionary  societies  of  the  world, 
and  in  its  varied  departments  shows  the  transcendent  value  of 
work  being  done  in  genuinely  Christian  schools.  Its  schools, 
from  kindergarten  to  college,  stand  for  all  that  is  elevating  in 
morals,  broad  in  intellectuality,  transforming  and  spiritual  in 
religion.  Hundreds  and  thousands  of  pupils  have  gone  from 
these  schools  as  assistants,  teachers,  home-makers,  pastors'  wives, 
and  are  leavening  the  whole  lump  of  heathenism.  Many  of  the 
graduates  are  occupying  very  responsible  positions,  and  there  is 
a  great  demand  for  their  services.  The  college  in  Lucknow, 
India,  the  first  established  in  Asia  for  women,  filled  with  the 
spirit  of  its  founder,  Isabella  Thoburn,  has  a  national  and  inter- 
national reputation. 

Another  college,  in  Nagasaki,  Japan,  founded  by  Elizabeth 
Russell,  is  an  institution  of  collegiate  grade,  and  under  the  new 
plan  of  unification  of  educational  work  all  other  schools  in 
southern  Japan  are  to  be  feeders  to  this  central  institution. 

Crandon  Institute  in  Rome  is  designed  to  meet  in  Italy  the 
demand  for  the  higher  Christian  education  of  girls,  and  so  wide- 
reaching  is  its  power  that  it  has  awakened  great  opposition. 
Pupils  of  seventeen  nationalities  are  in  attendance,  and  twenty 
teachers  compose  the  faculty.  The  pope  in  his  letters  has  sent 
out  warnings  to  the  clergy  against  the  inroads  of  Protestantism 
through  the  teachings  of  this  school. 

The  largest  boarding  school  is  in  Pachuca,  Mexico,  with  four 
hundred  pupils.  Sixty-five  boarding  schools  and  numerous  day 
schools  are  centers  where  twenty  thousand  young  girls  and 
women  are  receiving  Christian  training.  Eighteen  Bible  women's 
training  schools  are  located  in  Japan,  China,  and  India,  while 
summer  schools  are  held  for  the  training  of  native  Christian 
women. 

No  greater  benevolent  work  is  carried  on  than  in  the  establish- 


WOMAN  S    FOREIGN    MISSIONARY    SOCIETY  *     345 

merit  of  orphanages,  caring  for  thousands  of  famine  waifs.    These  Orphanages 
have  been  estabhshed  in  Mexico  and  Italy,  Japan  and  Africa,  two 
in  China  and  nine  in  India. 

In  Bareilly,  India,  is  a  Woman's  Department  of  the  theological 
school,  with  its  annex  the  kindergarten. 

Our  educational  institutions  and  hospitals  and  dispensaries  in 
North  China  suffered  from  the  uprising,  and  our  beautiful  build- 
ings were  destroyed,  but  they  are  now  rising  from  their  ashes 
with  Chinese  public  sentiment  more  favorable  with  regard  to  the 
education  of  women.  A  portion  of  the  indemnity  has  been  paid 
by  the  Chinese  government,  and  it  is  hoped  that  very  soon  all  our 
schools  will  resume  their  normal  conditions. 

Very  considerable  attention  has  been  given  to  teaching  indus- 
tries to  poor  Christian  women  who  have  no  means  of  livelihood. 
One  industrial  school  is  located  at  Tokyo,  Japan,  many  of  whose 
graduates  are  filling  positions  of  usefulness  in  government  and 
other  schools  as  teachers  of  industrial  work. 

All  other  agencies  center  in  the  evangelistic  work.    From  home   Evangelistic 
to  home,  through  city  and  village,  the  messengers  go  telling  the 
story  of  redemption  for  women.     This  story  has  transformed  the 
life,  the  home,  the  community,  and  has  brought  joy  and  gladness 
into  lives  that  were  hopeless. 

The  outlook  is  bright  with  promise.  The  society  recognizes 
that  success  is  not  due  to  any  superiority  of  organization  or 
human  wisdom  in  methods,  but  to  providential  leadings  and 
reliance  upon  One  who  is  able  to  do  and  has  done  abundantly 
above  all  we  can  ask  or  think.  It  is  earnestly  hoped  that  this 
First  General  Missionary  Convention  of  the  Church  will  infuse 
new  life  and  spirit  into  this  society,  so  that  it  may  have  such  a 
spiritual  equipment  that  it  may  march  forth  to  certain  and  more 
glorious  victory. 


346 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


Western 
Civilization 


Varied 
Activities 


Strengthen- 
ing Present 
Work 


THE    WORK   OF   THE    WOMAN'S    HOME 
MISSIONARY   SOCIETY 

Mrs.  Delia  Lathrop  Williams 

It  was  said  this  morning  that  Western  civiHzation  will  never 
save  the  heathen ;  that  it  must  be  the  Christ  who  is  to  be  lifted  up. 
But  the  pity  of  it  is  that  Western  civilization  does  not  lift  up  the 
Christ  in  these  foreign  lands.  Would  it  not  be  a  wonderful  thing 
if  we  could  make  our  Western  civilization  so  pure,  so  sweet,  so 
complete,  so  godlike,  that  Western  civilization  and  the  lifting  up 
of  Jesus  Christ  would  mean  the  same  thing;  that  wherever  our 
American  civilization  went,  justice  should  go  with  it,  love  should 
go  with  it,  the  Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ  should  go  with  it  every- 
where? This  is  what  we  would  gladly  make  of  the  beautiful 
home  land,  if  we  had  the  power. 

The  Woman's  Home  Missionary  Society  begins  on  the  Atlantic 
coast  with  the  immigrant  as  she  lands  upon  our  shores ;  and 
then  we  try  to  follow  the  immigrant  population  across  the  country 
to  the  Pacific  coast,  with  our  deaconess  homes  and  our  city 
missions.  We  are  trying  to  look  after  our  Indian  populations. 
We  have  our  orphanages,  our  hospitals,  and  our  medical  missions ; 
and  our  work  in  the  great  Southland  among  the  white  people  of 
the  South  that  were  discovered  by  the  war,  and  among  the  colored 
men  of  the  South  that  were  discovered  by  the  war,  too.  We 
have  such  great  fields  of  work  and  such  pressing  need  of  money 
that  it  sometimes  makes  us  heartsick.  We  have  just  come  back 
from  our  annual  convention  at  Kansas  City,  and  if  you  could 
have  seen  the  letters  piled  up  before  us — "Won't  you  come  and 
help  us?" — hungry  girls  in  the  South,  wanting  something  better 
than  they  have  had  in  their  cabin  homes,  begging  for  the  indus- 
trial home,  so  that  they  can  learn  to  be  wives  and  mothers,  and 
can  receive  some  academic  instruction,  so  as  to  be  able  to  read  as 
their  fathers  and  mothers  cannot.  It  sends  us  to  our  knees,  I 
assure  you,  when  these  peoples  come  to  us  and  we  are  obliged  to 
say,  "No,  not  now." 

Our  policy  of  recent  years  has  been  to  strengthen  the  work  we 
have  instead  of  opening  up  new  centers  of  work.  Last  year  we 
completed  our  medical  mission  building  in  Boston,  worth  about 
twenty-seven  thousand   dollars,   a   three-story   building,   with   a 


woman's  home  misstoxary  society  i    317 

garden  on  top,  away  back  at  the  north  end  of  the  city,  near  the 
old  North  Church,  in  an  Itahan  settlement,  where  we  are  gather- 
ing together  the  Italians  and  other  foreigners  to  give  them 
medical  assistance  and  so  to  reach  their  hearts,  just  as  the  Master 
did.  It  is  wonderful  how  these  poor  people  come  to  our  mission- 
aries and  confide  in  them.  And  then  we  have  finished  a  mission 
building  which  is  free  from  de1)t,  in  Detroit,  the  Tillman  Avenue 
Mission  for  Poles  and  Bohemians,  costing  $5.500 — a  good  new 
brick  building.  Then  there  is  our  new  and  beautiful  Rust  Hall, 
for  the  training  of  deaconesses  and  missionaries,  an  enlargement 
of  our  Lucy  Webb  Hayes  Training  School  in  Washington,  ren- 
dered imperative  by  its  growth. 

Our   membership   has   increased    during   the   last    year   about   Membership 
5,000,  so  that  we  have  now  76,000  members  in  the  society.    Our 
income  increased  nearly  $100,000  during  the  year.     So  you  see 
we  are  growing  a  little. 

When  the  Twentieth  Century  Ofifering  was  announced  by  the 
Church  the  Woman's  Home  Missionary  Society  pledged  itself  to 
raise  $200,000  of  that  money.  We  have  already  raised  $225,000 
and  more,  and  we  have  $50,000  more  in  sight. 

I  brine:  you  only  congfratulations  and  joy  to-day  in  view  of  all   The  OutiooK 
,      ,        •     t    r  T  .t      T        1  •  .1  before  the 

the  work  that  is  before  us.     I  am  sure  the  Lord  is  among  those   society 

who  are  trying  to  help  his  people.  I  am  glad  that  we  are  conse- 
crated to  this  work  of  trying  to  save  the  world,  and  I  am  glad 
that  the  Woman's  Home  Missionary  Society  has  a  part  in  saving 
all  these  people  outside  of  our  own  land.  I  feel  somehow  or 
other  as  if  we  are  the  basis  upon  which  all  this  foreign  missionary 
work  must  be  built ;  because  people  are  not  going  to  accept  the 
Christian  religion  unless  we  live  it.  If  we  can  help  our  own 
American  citizens  to  live  their  religion,  if  we  can  exhibit  a 
sample  of  a  national  life  that  is  pure  and  sweet  and  strong,  I  am 
sure  that  the  Christian  religion  will  find  favor  abroad.  I  said  at 
the  Kentucky  Conference  a  little  while  ago  that  it  seems  as 
though  it  would  be  easier  to  save  two  hundred  Chinamen  here 
than  in  a  foreign  country.  An  old  minister  came  up  afterward 
and  said,  "No,  the  work  you  are  doing  on  the  Pacific  coast  and  in 
these  cities,  in  trying  to  save  the  Chinese  and  Japanese,  is  harder 
than  the  work  done  on  the  foreign  field ;  because  these  people  in 
this  country  see  that  we  are  not  living  the  religion  that  we  pro- 
fess."   Isn't  that  a  pity?    Oughtn't  it  to  be  easier  to  save  a  few 


348 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


hundred  Chinese  here  than  those  in  their  own  land?  Shouldn't 
we  be  ambitious,  every  one  of  us,  to  present  such  a  view  of  our 
own  Christian  religion  to  the  people  that  come  to  us  from  abroad 
that  they  shall  fall  in  love  with  Jesus  Christ  as  they  look  into 
our  faces? 


Industrial 
Homes 


Response  to 
Urgent  Calls 


THE   VALUE    OF    INDUSTRIAL   TRAINING 
IN    OUR    SOUTHERN    SCHOOLS 

Mrs.  Wilbur  P.  Thirkield 

"Civilization  is  a  good  woman."  This  is  the  basal  idea  of 
the  Woman's  Home  Missionary  Society.  Because  of  this  we 
went  into  the  Southland  and  brought  redemption  to  its  women. 
Hear  the  prophetic  words  of  Bishop  Haygood :  "Dig  wells  in  the 
desert  and  in  the  rocky  places.  Plant  these  industrial  homes  all 
over  the  South.  Send  out  one  well-trained  woman  from  such  a 
home ;  she  will  be  worth  a  regiment  of  lady  missionaries  and 
their  visitations.  She  will  live  among  the  people  who  need  her; 
she  will  be  a  specimen  and  an  inspiration  to  them ;  she  will  in- 
carnate what  you  seek  to  teach." 

A  like  utterance  came  also  from  his  "brother  in  black,"  the 
sainted  and  saintly  Dr.  Crummell :  "I  plead  for  the  establishment 
of  one  large  industrial  school  in  every  Southern  State  for  the 
black  girls  of  the  South.  I  want  them  to  serve  the  home  life  of 
the  rising  womanhood  of  my  race."  Our  Methodist  women 
have  answered  these  calls,  and  to-day  there  are  eighteen  such 
homes  from  the  mountain  to  the  sea.  Were  they  needed? 
Emancipation  Day  may  have  thrown  open  the  door  of  the  cabin 
and  brought  freedom  to  the  body,  but  it  failed  to  set  free  the  mind 
and  heart.  There  could  be  no  sudden  change  from  rudeness  into 
beauty,  from  ignorance  into  knowledge.  Such  homes  could  not 
be  centers  of  purity,  as  they  were  utterly  lacking  in  family  history 
or  high  ideals.  In  our  industrial  homes  we  have  reached  through 
the  daughters  this  "debased  motherhood,"  and  have  given  them 
what  is  far  more  effective  than  sermons — the  loving  hand  of 
sympathy,  the  tender  warmth  of  "mothering."  Our  matrons  are 
true  lovers  of  humanity,  daring  to  look  the  national  problem 
squarely  in  the  face  and  to  train  our  girls  to  go  out  into  active 
service.    Our  girls  are  living  missionaries. 


INDUSTRIAL    TRAINING    IN    SOUTHERN    SCHOOLS        *      349 

"  The  dear  Lord's  best  interpreters 

Are  humble  human  souls  : 
The  Gospel  of  a  life  like  hers 

Is  more  than  books  and  scrolls." 

Within  those  walls  they  learn  the  dignity  of  labor ;  they  discover  The  Dignity 
that  brains  and  skill  are  needed  in  the  commonest  acts  of  life;  °  *  ""^ 
they  realize  that  the  simplest  vegetables  may  be  made  savory,  the 
plainest  utensils  the  most  useful.  Silver  or  tin  may  hold  the  same 
food,  but  the  care  and  thought  in  its  preparation  make  it  palatable. 
As  they  pass  from  room  to  room,  from  one  line  of  work  to  an- 
other, that  secret  so  often  hidden  becomes  revealed — the  vast 
difiference  between  housekeeping  and  home-making.  One  is  a 
business,  the  other  an  art.  They  are  taught  to  combine  the  two, 
and  while  cleaning  up  the  cabin,  and  making  it  and  all  within 
most  healthful,  they  also  add  the  little  touches  of  comfort  and 
beauty  which  shall  reach  the  soul  and  transform  the  hut  into  a 
home.  Thus  is  their  character,  as  head,  hand,  and  heart  are  alike 
renewed,  made  all  rounded  and  complete. 

These  girls  do  not  go  forth  raised  above  their  people,  but  they  The  Test  of 
are  eager  to  go  back  into  the  mountain  fastnesses  or  the  marshy  ^^^  ^  ® 
lowlands  with  a  fresh  zest  for  their  work,  a  higher  sense  of  its 
dignity  and  power,  and  a  deeper  reverence  for  the  toilworn  hands 
of  the  ignorant  but  faithful  mother.  I  had  the  privilege  of  living 
for  seventeen  years  near  our  industrial  home  at  Atlanta,  and  it 
did  me  good  to  see  those  girls  go  out  into  life,  and  how  they 
stood  the  test.  Many  of  them  bought  homes.  Over  half  of  them 
married  ministers  and  went  forth  as  the  home-makers  and  future 
mothers  of  the  race.  Scores  were  busy  in  the  schoolroom.  Sev- 
eral were  called  to  positions  of  trust  at  Tuskegee,  that  center  of 
industrialism  in  the  South.  One  is  a  deaconess  in  Atlanta, 
another  a  trained  nurse.  Tliese  are  simply  the  fruits  of  one 
Home,  as  it  came  under  my  personal  observation ;  but  they  typify 
the  fruits  of  all  the  homes  scattered  all  over  the  Southland.  Hear 
a  daughter  speak,  as  she  leaves  cheer  and  culture  behind  and  re- 
turns to  the  lonely,  desolate  cabin:  "The  love  for  my  race  is  a 
passion  with  me  as  deep  as  the  sea,  as  holy  as  the  Church  of  God." 

The  hovel  of  the  poor  white  man  is  no  better  than  that  of  his   Where  Homes 
black  neighbor.    Oftentimes  its  interior  is  not  so  neat.    There  are      " 
no  vines  about   the   doorway,   no  curtains   at   the   windows,   no 
flowers  in  the  garden.     Many  of  them  are  windowless  and  shut- 


350 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


Foundation 
Work 


Women  as 

Farm 

Laborers 


Future 
Mothers 


terless,  the  walls  lined  with  snuffboxes.  The  utter  squalor  of 
such  a  home  is  more  depressing  than  even  that  of  the  city  slums. 
Our  industrial  homes  are  sending  out  girls  to  turn  this  wretched- 
ness into  a  beauty  spot.  One  of  the  graduates  from  Ritter  Home, 
is  now  care-taker  and  looker-after  of  all  the  girls  of  the  home  in 
Boaz,  in  the  hills  of  Alabama.  Like  homes  are  to  be  opened  on 
the  hilltops  of  North  Carolina,  for  the  ministers  are  eager  to  put 
their  hands  into  their  pockets  and  share  the  expense. 

This  work  has  been  foundational,  radical,  touching  the  very 
roots  of  life.  But,  grand  as  have  been  the  achievements  of  the 
last  twenty  years,  the  past  is  only  the  preparation,  looking  for- 
ward to  yet  greater  results.  Poise,  patience,  love — these  are  the 
sure  touchstones  to  success.  Our  Woman's  Home  Missionary 
Society  is  trying  to  meet  and  overcome  the  taints  of  heredity  by 
the  saving  power  of  a  new  environment.  However  great  the  ob- 
stacles. His  grace  is  sufBcient,  and  in  our  industrial  training  we 
are  putting  Christianity  alongside  of  handcraft  and  book  learning. 
Cleverness  and  brilliancy  may  be  unfruitful,  if  there  is  no  moral 
force  behind  them.  We  are  sending  out  girls,  their  wills  joined 
unto  the  divine  will,  who  are  going  forth  to  conquer  circum- 
stances and  to  turn  sadness  and  depression  into  joy  and  gladness. 

In  a  recent  number  of  The  Independent  a  Southern  woman 
writes  about  the  negro  girl ;  she  says,  "I  never  sat  in  a  negro 
cabin."  Thank  God,  I  have  had  the  privilege  of  sitting  in  many 
such,  watching  all  night  by  the  bedside  of  the  sufifering,  coming 
in  close  personal  touch  with  their  lives,  listening  to  the  heart  cries 
of  those  yearning,  anxious  mothers.  Would  that  I  might  bring 
to  you  to-day  that  plea,  so  pathetic  and  yet  so  hopeful,  from  their 
throbbing,  agonizing  souls!  Four  hundred  thousand  negro 
women  even  now  are  classed  as  farm  laborers.  In  one  county  of 
Alabama  twenty-five  persons  are  crowded  into  every  ten  rooms 
of  house  accommodation,  while  in  the  worst  tenement  districts 
of  New  York  there  are  not  above  twenty-two.  The  mountaineers 
in  Kentucky  and  Tennessee  are  given  up  to  family  feuds,  without 
God,  without  the  Bible.     Shall  we  leave  them  yet? 

Who  are  these  girls  who  have  come  under  the  influence  of  our 
industrial  training?  They  are  the  future  mothers  of  the  race. 
Each  one  of  their  households  will  be  a  miniature  commonwealth ; 
and  every  such  woman  of  character  will  be  worth  twenty  reform- 
ers.    The  regeneration  of  the  Southern  child  must  be  brought 


INDUSTRIAL   TRAIXINO    IX    SOUTIIERX    SCHOOLS  <35l 

about  by  the  regeneration  of  the  Southern  mother.  She  is  the 
defender  of  the  home.  She  makes  and  molds  the  character  of  the 
future.  She  is  making  history  for  the  next  century.  To  her  is 
given  the  crown  and  glory  of  womanhood — the  training  of  an 
immortal  soul.  •  Woe  be  to  that  nation  whose  mothers  do  not  bear 
men.  True  are  those  forceful  words :  "The  destiny  of  nations 
lies  far  more  in  the  hands  of  women,  the  mothers,  than  in  the 
possession  of  power." 

Look  at  the  new  mother  as  she  goes  forth  from  our  homes.  Transforracd 
\'isit  the  place  where  she  reigns  as  queen.  Equal  with  her  hus-  Womanhood 
band  in  intellect,  congenial  in  taste,  thorough  in  housework,  full 
of  sympathy  for  the  needy  ones  about  her ;  her  heart  aglow  with 
a  mother's  love,  she  turns  simplicity  into  beauty,  disorder  into 
order,  the  drudgery  of  work  into  a  joy,  the  cares  of  childhood 
into  a  divine  and  holy  mission.  No  wonder  her  boy's  eyes  sparkle, 
her  two  rooms  attract  and  allure,  her  very  living  speaks  louder 
than  any  words  from  pulpit  or  platform.  "It  is  man,"  says  Drum- 
mond,  "who  is  the  missionary,  it  is  not  his  words.  His  character 
is  his  message." 

Such  centers  of  life-giving  power  are  scattered  all  over  the  Centers  of 
South,  a  vivid  contrast  and  redeeming  force  to  the  homeless,  p^^^f^.^^'"^ 
ignorant  waifs  crowding  our  city  streets  and  country  lanes — two 
thousand  negro  orphans  in  Nashville  alone;  hundreds  of  black 
and  white  in  the  low  wards  of  every  city ;  children  without  hope, 
without  knowledge  of  aught  but  crime — they  are  made  criminals 
by  the  very  air  they  inhale — their  faces  stained  with  the  dirt  of 
the  streets,  their  souls  soon  to  be  stained  with  the  blackness  of 
sin  and  crime.  Is  not  your  heart  touched  as  was  the  soul  of  that 
great  poet,  Elizabeth  Barrett  Browning,  when  she  wrote,  "The 
child's  sob  in  the  silence  curses  deeper  than  the  strong  man  in 
his  wrath"  ?  These  boys  and  girls  are  soon  to  have  a  part  in  the 
molding  of  our  nation.  These  children  of  the  saloon  and  gutter 
must  be  offset  by  the  children  of  pure,  refined  homes.  These  coun- 
ties must  be  Americanized,  not  Africanized.  Through  the  new 
home  we  are  sending  out  the  coming  leaders,  strong  and  valiant 
for  the  right,  thoughtful  and  ready  to  stand  for  America  and 
Africa.  True,  knowledge  is  power;  so,  too,  ignorance  is  power. 
Do  you  realize  its  vast  extent  throughout  the  South  ?  Nearly  one 
third  of  the  voters  of  Georgia  are  illiterate,  and  there  is  a  larger 
number  in  other  Southern  States.  There  is  only  about  one  half  the 


352 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


A  Common 
Destiny 


Education 
and  Crime 


Time 

Required  for 
Building 
Character 


money  spent  for  education  on  all  Georgia  as  is  spent  on  the  single 
city  of  Boston.  Out  of  ten  Southern  States  only  three  fall  below 
the  fifty  per  cent  level  of  illiteracy  among  the  colored  race,  and 
many  States  reach  the  twenty  per  cent  line  among  the  white  race. 

Black  and  white  must  be  lifted  together.  The  physical,  moral, 
mental,  and  spiritual  being  of  one  race  is  always  closely  allied 
with  that  of  the  other.  Two  million  illiterate  mothers  means 
four  million  illiterate  children  in  the  next  generation.  Out  in  the 
country,  among  the  masses,  they  are  still  living  in  a  condition  of 
ignorance  and  bondage.  In  Mississippi  the  witch  hunt  is  a  reality ; 
in  Tennessee  the  mountaineers  are  ignorant  and  superstitious ;  in 
Georgia  and  the  Carolinas  child  labor,  and  its  dwarfing,  killing 
effects,  is  arousing  the  nation.  Our  industrial  homes  are  training 
girls  who  will  go  out  to  help  solve  this  problem.  They  are  plant- 
ing the  schoolhouse  from  the  Potomac  to  the  Gulf.  Over  each 
floats  the  Stars  and  Stripes,  and  within  stands  the  Christian  sol- 
dier, more  efficient  in  the  hour  of  national  danger  than  he  who 
handles  the  gun.  She  arouses  the  dormant  minds  to  thinking 
and  to  wishing;  she  puts  ideas  into  the  youthful  brain  and  sends 
him  out  to  transform  his  acre  into  produce ;  she  takes  the  muscle 
and  reveals  its  power  until  they  go  forth  ready  to  fashion  ma- 
chinery, build  the  cottage,  make  the  clothes,  cook  the  meal,  till 
the  soil — the  sure  avenue  to  triumph  and  success.  Truly  does 
one  say,  "Soils,  minerals,  timber,  climate,  do  not  make  wealth ; 
else  New  England  would  be  in  the  poorhouse,  and  the  South 
rolling  in  riches."  Wealth  comes  alone  from  skill  and  brains. 
We  are  teaching  them  practical  lessons  along  such  lines  as  we 
reveal  to  the  daughters  of  the  land  the  evil  consequences  of  waste- 
ful housekeeping,  bad  cooking,  unskilled  labor,  ignorance,  super- 
stition, shiftlessness,  vulgarity,  and  vice. 

Does  it  pay  ?  A  hundredfold !  Southern  writers  may  tell  of 
unchastity  and  dishonesty  among  the  negro  women.  Our  girls 
do  not  go  astray.  The  educated  negro  is  not  the  criminal.  I 
could  give  scores  of  instances  where  girls  who  have  come  under 
the  influence  of  our  training  have  gone  into  the  darkest  corners, 
have  been  plunged  into  a  very  whirlpool  of  temptation,  and  have 
come  out  pure  and  true. 

Do  not  criticise,  but  sympathize.  Do  not  worry  at  slow  growth. 
We  are  building  men  and  women.  Steady,  long-continued  work 
is  necessary  for  the  elevation  of  any  race.     Have  faith  in  their 


INDUSTRIAL    TRAINING    IN    SOUTIinRX    SCHOOLS 


353 


possibilities,  and  judge  them  by  their  individual  strength,  rather 
than  by  the  weakness  of  the  many.  The  wliole  situation,  indus- 
trially and  educationally,  is  full  of  hope.  The  South  itself  is 
aroused ;  our  Methodist  sisters  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  Souths  are  starting  like  homes,  while  leading  educators 
are  awakening  to  the  need. 

These  young  people  are  now  looking  in  at  the  great  wide-open 
door  of  American  life,  getting  their  first  taste  of  the  schoolroom, 
and  are  hungering  and  thirsting  for  more.  What  can  we  do  to 
aid  in  their  evolution  ?  They  stand  at  the  crossroads  ;  let  us  teach 
them  to  read  the  signs.  Power  is  the  index  of  responsibility,  and 
brotherhood  is  the  dynamic  of  civilization.  Speer  says  truly, 
"There  is  no  right  sociology  which  is  not  religious ;  and  there  is 
no  right  religion  which  is  not  sociological."  We  have  the  duty 
and  the  opportimity.  Through  these  homes  God  opens  the  chan- 
nel for  us  to  cleanse  and  purify  the  heathen  within  our  borders. 
Victor  Hugo  says,  "Thou  wilt  be  my  soul,  and  mine  arm."  These 
graduates  will  extend  our  influence  into  every  hamlet  and  town. 
As  artisans  in  home  and  school,  each  one  is  a  living  missionary. 
Already  they  are  going  across  the  sea  and  becoming  missionaries 
in  distant  lands.  God  is  not  dead.  His  children  may  be  timid  and 
asleep,  but  he  never  sleeps.  He  glances  forward  to  a  future  we 
may  never  see,  but  which  we  may  help  make  real.  "Duties  are 
ours;  events  are  God's." 


A  Hunger 
and  Thirst  for 
the  Best 
Things 


"  The  centuries  are  God's  days  ;  within  his  hand. 

Held  in  the  hollow,  as  a  balance  swings. 

Less  than  its  dust,  are  all  our  temporal  things. 

We  have  no  glass  to  sweep  his  universe. 

A  hand's-breadth  distant  dies,  to  our  poor  ears. 

The  strain  whose  echoes  keep  all  heaven  glad. 

We  do  but  grope  and  creep — 

There  always  is  a  polestar  in  the  sky." 


23 


354 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


Summoning 
Voices 


The  Far 
Northwest 


ALASKA,    HAWAII,   AND    PORTO    RICO 

Mrs.    May   Leonard   Woodruff 

When  the  nineteenth  century  was  seventeen  years  old  a  man 
was  alone  in  the  fields  communing  with  his  God,  when  suddenly 
there  seemed  to  break  upon  his  ear  voices  calling  him  in  a  north- 
western direction.  Following  these  voices,  he  found  a  tribe  of 
Indians  who  needed  a  God.  Such  was  the  germ  of  the  great 
Missionary  Society  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  From 
that  day  until  the  present  voices  havie  been  heard,  not  only  from 
all  around  the  world,  but  they  have  been  coming  to  us  from  all 
parts  of  our  own  land. 

In  1869  voices  were  heard  from  far  beyond  the  sea,  and  the  ear 
of  womanhood  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  was  unstopped, 
and  the  call  was  responded  to,  and  our  Woman's  Foreign  Mis- 
sionary Society  went  into  the  foreign  lands,  following  the  lead  of 
these  voices.  It  was  years  later  before  the  ears  of  Methodism 
were  unstopped  to  the  voices  in  our  own  land.  For  a  time  we 
listened  to  the  voices  that  came  from  south  of  the  lakes,  from 
north  of  the  Gulf,  from  east  of  the  Pacific,  and  from  west  of  the 
Atlantic,  and  now  we  have  gone,  because  of  those  voices,  into  all 
parts  of  this  wondrous  work. 

But  erelong  there  broke  upon  our  ears  other  voices.  They 
came  from  away  up  in  the  northwest,  and  we  wondered,  and  we 
heard  the  voice  of  the  Alaskan  woman ;  we  heard  the  voice  of 
the  infant  that  had  just  come  into  this  world  with  a  wail.  We 
saw  the  mother  who  looked  at  her  babe  and  said,  "I  would  rather 
take  her  life  than  that  she  should  live  as  I  have  lived."  And  there 
where  infanticide  has  been  practiced  for  these  many  years  we 
heard  the  voice  of  the  child.  And  then  we  heard  the  voice  of  the 
girl,  and  she  said  to  us,  "Here  I  am,  worth  nothing;  here  I  am, 
looked  upon  as  less  than  a  beast ;  here  I  am,  unloved ;  here  I  am, 
uncared  for."  We  listened  to  her  voice  and  we  heard  it,  and  we 
have  been  giving  to  the  Alaskan  girl  the  same  advantages  that 
we  have  given  to  our  girls  in  the  South  and  in  the  West.  And 
O,  what  a  sad  wail  it  was  that  went  up  from  the  widow  at  the 
funeral  pile,  upon  which  her  husband's  body  was  about  to  be 
burned,  when  she  knew  that  thereafter  she  would  no  more  have 
friends,  but  would  be  cast  out.     Hearinq-  these  voices,  we  must 


ALASKA,    HAWAII,    AND    PORTO    RICO 


355 


Japanese  ic 
Hawaii 


give  to  these  babes,  these  girls,  and  these  women,  the  Gospel  of 
our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ.  And  there  in  our  great  Jessie 
Lee  Home  in  Unalaska,  we  are  giving  to  these  just  what  we  ought 
to  have  given  them  many  years  ago.  And  the  voice  is  louder 
than  ever,  when  we  realize  that  the  Greek  Church  is  spending 
more  money  in  Alaska  than  all  the  Protestant  organizations  put 
together.     We  must  respond  more  and  more  emphatically. 

There  came  another  call  to  us,  from  the  southwest  of  our  own 
country.  We  turned  our  ear  in  that  direction,  and  heard  the  wail 
of  the  Hawaiian  woman  in  her  home.  Would  you  know  why  we 
knew  these  things?  Because  we  had  learned  the  voice  of  the 
Japanese  woman  in  her  home  in  Japan.  We  turn  to  these  Japanese 
women,  more  than  ten  thousand  of  them  in  Honolulu  alone. 
There  they  were  worshiping  their  idols  as  they  did  in  Japan.  We 
have  gone  to  them  with  the  same  blessed  Christ  that  we  have 
taken  to  the  Alaskan  and  to  the  Hawaiian  woman.  To  the 
Japanese  woman  there  we  are  giving  the  same  freedom  and 
liberty  that  we  have  in  our  Master. 

Only  a  few  days  ago  upon  the  platform  of  that  great  conven- 
tion in  Kansas  City,  Missouri,  we  looked  upon  the  fruits  of  our 
labor  when  a  little  Hawaiian  girl  stood  upon  the  platform  and 
sang  to  us  the  beautiful  songs  of  Zion.  Born  in  Honolulu  of 
Japanese  parents,  she  was  put  into  the  care  of  an  Italian  woman, 
who,  finding  her  as  she  grew  up  to  be  graceful  and  sweet  and 
that  she  had  a  wonderful  voice,  gave  her  training  in  voice  culture 
and  taught  her  the  lewd  dance,  that  she  might  entertain  in  the 
dance  halls  of  Chinatown  in  San  Francisco.  Five  years  later  she 
was  taken  back  to  Japan,  because  her  father  was  going  across 
the  sea  to  bring  Japanese  girls  to  this  country  for  immoral  pur- 
poses. The  little  girl  returned  to  San  Francisco,  was  discovered 
by  our  missionaries,  and  rescued  from  one  knows  not  what  kind 
of  a  life.  At  ten  years  of  age  she  had  given  her  heart  to  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  and  as  I  talked  to  her  one  day  she  said,  "O,  I  want 
to  be  a  missionary,  just  like  Miss  Gray."  Shall  we  not  give  to 
the  Japanese  women  this  same  Gospel  ? 

Less  than  three  years  ago  we  heard  voices  from  the  southeast.   Porto  Rican 
We  turned  our  ear  in  that  direction  and  we  heard  tongues  that 
were  somewhat  strange.     They  were  our  sisters  in  Porto  Rico. 
What  is  the  position  of  woman  in  that  land?     GckI  alone  knows 
the  depth  of  her  degradation,  her  ignorance,  and  her  superstition. 


Saved  to  a 

Christian 

Life 


Women 


356 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


Fonr  Hundred 
Years  of 
Darkness 


The  Answer 
Made 


her  lack  of  knowledge  of  God  as  her  Saviour.  On  the  i8th  of 
October,  1898,  when  our  blessed  flag  was  raised  over  that  island, 
the  banner  of  Emmanuel  was  placed  there,  and  the  Woman's 
Home  Missionary  Society  went  to  that  island,  and  we  have  given 
the  Gospel  to  these  women.  We  have  heard  the  voices  of  the 
blind  children  of  the  island.  Hundreds  of  them,  because  of  a 
terrible  practice  at  the  time  of  their  birth,  are  blind,  blind,  blind. 
And  as  you  go  through  the  island,  up  and  down,  there  are  the 
bHnd  people,  blind  because  of  ignorance  and  superstition. 

We  have  listened  to  the  voice  of  the  woman  in  Porto  Rico  who 
to-day  is  a  noble  wife,  and  she  is  seeking  for  a  true  and  a  pure 
religion.  For  four  hundred  years  these  people  have  known 
nothing  but  ignorance  and  superstition.  These  women  have 
called  to  us.  A  second  class  have  called  to  us,  those  who  to-day 
are  mothers  in  that  island,  whose  children  do  not  know  the  name 
and  face  of  their  own  father.  And  there  is  another  class  of 
women  whom  I  saw  in  the  miserable  patios  and  shacks  of  the 
island.  We  went  into  one  of  them  one  day  and  saw  a  Porto  Rican 
woman  sitting  there  rocking  monotonously  back  and  forth.  She 
did  not  notice  us  until  the  deaconess  with  whom  I  was  touched 
her  shoulder,  and  then  she  looked  up  and  said,  "Will  he  ever  come 
back  again?"  And  the  deaconess  replied,  "No,  Mary,  I  think 
he  will  never  come  back."  She  was  one  of  the  women  who  had 
been  espoused  by  a  Spanish  soldier.  When  he  was  deported 
from  the  island  he  had  not  cared  enough  for  the  woman 
who  had  borne  children  for  him  to  bid  her  good-bye  in  her 
own  home.  There  she  sits,  rocking  to  and  fro  in  her  misery, 
believing  that  the  man  who  is  the  father  of  her  children 
is  incarcerated  in  one  of  the  prisons  of  the  island.  We  have 
heard  these  voices  j  we  have  gone  to  these  people.  In  our  indus- 
trial home  in  San  Juan  we  have  a  little  girl  whose  only  home,  so 
far  as  she  ever  had  known,  was  in  an  old  cave  under  the  city  wall. 
Another  was  picked  up  in  one  of  those  miserable  patios  and  was 
brought  to  us  looking  more  like  an  animal  than  a  human  being. 
W^e  are  hearing  these  voices  to-day ;  we  are  turning  our  ear  in 
every  direction,  and  the  Woman's  Home  Missionary  Society 
promises  you  that  just  wherever  our  flag  goes,  there  we  will  turn 
our  ears  and  follow  it,  and  uplift  the  Gospel,  the  banner  of  our 
Emmanuel,  that  women  and  children  may  be  rescued  from  their 
darkness,  their  ignorance,  and  their  superstition. 


THE    DEACONESS    AS    A    MISSIOXARV    WORKER  ,       357 

THE    DEACONESS   AS   A    MISSIONARY 
WORKER 

The  Rev.  W.  F.  Oldham,  D.D. 

Wherein  consists  the  strength  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Nuns  and 
Church?  Not  in  the  closely  related  ecclesiasticism.  though  that  ^^aconessea 
does  some  things  well.  The  real  strength  of  Romanism  consists 
of  these  pale-faced  women  whom  we  see  sometimes  on  the  street, 
who  serve  the  Church.  The  corresponding  strength  of  the  Prot- 
estant Church  is  in  the  Protestant  nun,  the  deaconess.  Some  one 
has  said.  Is  that  not  imitating  Roman  Catholicism?  I  care  not 
who  makes  the  pattern,  provided  the  pattern  he  good.  There  is 
this  difference:  The  Roman  Catholic  nun  signs  away  her  liherty 
absolutely.  The  Protestant  deaconess  is  a  free  woman,  who  gives 
herself  to  service,  consenting  from  day  to  day.  The  Roman 
Catholic  nun  once  for  all  resigns  herself  to  a  certain  life.  The 
deaconesses  are  continually  setting  up  homes  from  which  strong 
missionary  influences  are  going  out. 

In  our  whole  deaconess  work  where  is  the  great  stress  and  dififi-  The  Problem 
culty  in  the  home  land?  You  have  heard  about  the  South  and  the 
negro's  cabin,  and  about  Alaska  and  Porto  Rico.  Not  to  minify 
this,  but  to  put  the  accent  where  peculiarly  it  belongs,  I  declare 
to  you  that  the  most  profound  problem  that  faces  this  American 
people  is  the  problem  of  the  great  cities  of  our  United  States. 
You  know  how  Lord  Beaconsfield  long  ago  said,  pointing  across 
the  Atlantic  Ocean,  "They,"  meaning  the  Americans,  "cannot 
govern  their  own  municipalities.  Do  they  expect  to  teach  us  how 
to  govern  ours?"  He  put  his  finger  on  the  spot  of  all  spots  where 
we  are  most  seriously  threatened.  God  save  these  United  States ! 
He  cannot  save  them  unless  the  cities  be  purified.  What  are  we 
going  to  do  in  the  cities  ?  The  cities  can  never  be  saved  until  a 
practical  Christianity,  that  is  not  primarily  concerned  with 
doctrine  and  dogmas,  but  is  primarily  concerned  with  the 
expression  of  a  Christlike  life,  shall  fill  our  streets  and  our  alleys 
and  make  way  for  the  coming  of  the  kingdom  of  God.  And  as 
the  leaders  of  that  movement  these  deaconesses  have  come,  not  to 
take  the  place  of  other  Christian  women,  but  to  lead  the  Christian 
women.  God  forbid  that  the  deaconess  should  ever  be  the  sole 
and  only  worker  in  the  streets  and  alleys  of  the  town ;   but  God 


358 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


Eoman 

Catholic 

HosDitals 


Schools  and 
Orphanages 


Boaconess  as 
Visitor 


make  her  the  leader  of  the  Christian  womanhood  of  the  Church 
in  going  into  that  home,  whether  it  be  on  the  avenue  or  in  the 
alley,  into  which  the  tidings  of  God  have  not  yet  come. 

In  every  considerable  city  in  this  United  States  you  will  find 
the  Roman  Catholic  hospital,  and,  on  the  whole,  it  is  not  costing 
the  Roman  Catholic  people  any  money  at  all.  The  Roman 
Catholic  hospitals  somehow  or  other  are  managed  in  all  cities 
without  a  continual  and  great  draft  upon  a  little  handful  of 
people.  In  some  way  the  Roman  Catholics  have  learned  how  to 
run  great  hospitals  practically  at  a  profit.  What  is  the  secret  of 
it?  The  Romish  nun,  serving  for  God's  sake,  and  not  for  hire. 
God  bless  all  the  activities  of  kindly  women  in  whatever  Church 
they  may  be  found.  But  I  submit  that  before  this  Methodist 
Church  can  serve  the  communities  all  around  them  we  must  learn 
how  to  handle  our  great  hospitals,  manning  them — "womaning" 
them — manning  them  with  the  deaconess,  the  trained  efficient 
worker  who  is  economical  and  does  not  demand  anything  near 
what  is  necessary  to  be  paid  to  a  trained  nurse  who  is  serving  in 
part  at  least  for  wages. 

The  Roman  Catholics  have  schools  and  orphanages.  There 
was  a  time  when,  owing  to  peculiar  circumstances,  two  little  boys, 
the  sons  of  a  German,  were  thrown  upon  the  Protestant  Church. 
The  Protestant  Church  had  no  place  in  that  part  of  the  world  to 
put  those  little  boys.  Two  Romish  sisters  said,  "Give  us  the  boys 
and  we  will  take  care  of  them."  The  Roman  Church  took  the  two 
boys.  Who  were  they?  One  of  them  was  afterward  Bishop 
Rosecrans,  of  West  Virginia,  and  the  other  General  Rosecrans, 
of  the  Union  army — presented  by  Protestant  people  to  the  Roman 
Church,  simply  because  we  did  not  have  the  orphanages  to  put 
them  into.  How  are  we  ever  going  to  have  orphanages?  We 
cannot  run  them  without  experienced  and  skillful  women  who 
are  serving  for  love  and  not  for  hire. 

The  deaconess  is  the  visitor.  The  patronage  of  a  mission,  the 
condescension  of  a  well-to-do  woman  stooping  to  say,  "You  are 
poor  people,  and  we  rather  think  we  will  come  and  help  you" — 
all  that  is  perfectly  abominated  by  those  we  would  help.  You 
cannot  have  a  person  live  in  this  country  six  months  and  enjoy 
patronage.  In  America  the  woman  who  gives  must  be  not  only 
my  lady  bountiful,  but  my  lady  gentle  and  gracious,  a  woman 
with  the  tides  of  the  great  God  in  her  heart,  giving  to  her  sisters. 


PRESIDING    ELDERS    A.ND    DISIKICT    SECKETARIES         »      359 

The  deaconesses  are  going  from  home  to  home,  toihng  up  the 
steps,  going  into  httle  humble  homes,  not  taking  the  airs  of 
patronage,  but  always  taking  the  spirit  of  sisterhness.  God  bless 
the  deaconess.  She  is  making  possible  the  new  order  of  a  society 
which  shall  be  interpenetrated  by  Christian  kindliness,  where 
those  who  can  are  taking  the  loving  message  to  those  who  need. 


WHAT    THE    PRESIDING    ELDER    AND    THE 

DISTRICT    MISSIONARY    SECRETARY 

CAN    DO 

SECTION    CONFERENCE   DISCUSSION 

The  Rev.  C.  W.  Millard,  D.D.,  New  York  District,  New  Exchange  of 
York  Conference :  We  plan  to  have  district  missionary  rallies  ^* ' 
each  year,  and  in  addition  we  are  carrying  out  at  this  time  a  plan 
for  the  exchange  of  pulpits  and  prayer  meetings  all  over  the  dis- 
trict. Each  minister  is  to  prepare  a  sermon  and  prayer  meeting 
address,  and  he  is  to  give  it  as  many  times  in  his  own  church  as 
he  thinks  best ;  he  is  to  preach  in  some  other  church  than  his  own 
on  missions,  and  he  is  to  be  at  some  other  prayer  meeting  than 
his  own. 

The  Rev.  W.  H.  Holmes,  D.D.,  Joliet  District,  Rock  River  The  Greater 
Conference :  The  method  that  has  just  been  spoken  of  was  in-  ^  ^ 
augurated  by  my  predecessor  on  the  district  that  I  serve,  and  was 
continued  by  myself.  Since  then  we  have  adopted  some  other 
plans.  But  I  think  the  exchange  plan  was  the  greatest  help  in 
bringing  the  district  up  to  its  full  apportionment.  The  end  can 
be  accomplished  fully  as  well  on  a  country  district  by  working  it 
by  groups  of  changes  rather  than  by  attempting  to  carry  out  a 
general  interchange  throughout  the  whole  district.  In  this  way 
the  work  can  be  accomplished  within  three  weeks'  time. 

The  Rev.  J.  B.  Trimble,  D.D.,  Sioux  City  District,  Northwest  Snbdistrict 
Iowa  Conference :  On  many  districts  it  is  found  that  the  pastors 
are  not  intensely  interested  in  these  conventions.  The  general 
plan  in  Iowa  is  to  divide  the  district  into  four  subdistricts,  and 
visit  not  only  every  subdistrict,  but  every  appointment  on  the 
district.  We  begin  with  the  exchange  of  pulpits  and  pastors. 
That  calls  the  people  together  and  advertises  the  plan.     Ihcn  we 


36o 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


A  Spring 
Campaign 


Importance  of 
the  Pastor 


Giving  on  a 
Prayer  Basis 


have  missionary  meetings  on  the  following  Wednesday,  Thurs- 
day, and  Friday — giving  two  evenings  and  a  day  to  each  charge. 
We  get  out  dodgers,  spend  some  money,  and  send  the  preachers 
out  and  have  them  bill  the  town.  We  invite  everybody.  The 
people  wonder  what  is  going  on,  and  that  gets  out  a  crowd.  We 
use  a  large  missionary  map,  such  as  we  are  getting  from  the 
Missionary  Society  for  three  dollars  now.  We  have  that  map 
hanging  there  for  two  evenings  and  a  day,  so  the  people  can  learn 
the  location  of  our  missionary  fields.  All  our  people  need  is  the 
information  and  they  will  give  the  money. 

The  Rev.  W.  G.  Hohanshelt,  Creston  District,  Des  Moines 
Conference :  We  plan  a  missionary  campaign  in  the  early  spring. 
There  seems  then  to  be  a  good  deal  of  vitality  among  the  people, 
as  well  as  in  nature  generally.  We  have  the  whole  district  divided 
into  sections,  and  the  pastors  go  from  these  subdistrict  meetings 
to  their  own  churches.  We  pay  no  attention  to  whether  our 
Toads  are  muddy  or  not.  After  the  campaign  had  covered  the 
whole  district,  then  the  collections  are  taken.  I  send  a  bulletin, 
on  the  Monday  after  the  offering  has  been  received,  to  every 
church ;  in  that  way  preachers  are  intelligent  and  enthusiastic 
over  the  work  that  has  been  done  all  over  the  district.  This  con- 
vention work  is  supplemented  by  tracts,  which  are  freely  dis- 
tributed, and  everything  is  done  that  can  be  done  to  make  the 
preachers  write  a  new  sermon  on  missions,  one  that  will  touch 
the  hearts — and  not  only  one,  but  four  or  five. 

The  Rev.  C.  U.  Wade,  Muncie  District,  North  Indiana  Con- 
ference: We  have  three  sessions  in  our  conventions  in  local 
churches,  and  we  cover  the  whole  subject  of  our  benevolent  in- 
terests, addresses  being  made  upon  the  work  of  each  society.  The 
result  has  been  that  we  have  increased  our  subscriptions,  and  the 
plan  has  resulted  in  the  stirring  up  of  every  preacher.  If  the 
pastor  lays  this  cause  upon  his  heart  the  people  are  willing  to  give. 
I  find  that  as  new  preachers  come  into  my  district,  often  they  are 
not  interested  in  missions,  and  I  find  it  necessary  to  get  with  them 
and  talk  with  them  and  plead  with  them.  As  the  result,  every 
one  of  them  swings  into  line. 

The  Rev.  G.  B.  Smith,  Canton  District,  East  Ohio  Confer- 
ence :  I  had  a  novel  experience  this  year  at  one  point.    The  pastor 


PRESIDING    ELDKRS    AND    DISTUICT    SECRETARIES        *       361 

had  worked  up  the  missionary  interest  to  such  a  pitch  that  he 
feh  he  must  do  something  out  of  the  ordinary.  The  charge  con- 
sists of  two  hundred  and  seventy-eight  members,  and  two 
appointments,  at  both  of  which  the  collection  for  missions  had 
been  taken.  At  the  country  appointment  I  was  to  ask  for  an 
additional  offering.  The  first  thing  we  did  was  to  have  the 
love  feast  and  the  sacrament ;  then  I  preached.  At  the  con- 
clusion of  that  sermon  we  distributed  cards.  Then  I  said,  "Let 
us  kneel,  and  everyone  ask  what  the  Lord  would  have  him  give 
this  year  in  addition  to  what  he  has  already  contributed."  1  will 
give  you  the  experience  of  one  man.  He  said,  "I  had  intended 
to  subscribe  ten  dollars,  but  while  on  my  knees  I  concluded  the 
Lord  would  not  excuse  me  unless  I  gave  fifteen  dollars ;"  and 
that  man  made  his  subscription  twenty-five  dollars.  That  day 
there  was  taken  up  in  that  church  two  hundred  dollars  in  addition 
to  what  had  been  given.  The  Holy  Spirit  was  present,  and  U 
M^as  the  best  time  I  ever  had.  That  charge  gave  five  hundred  and 
six  dollars  to  missions. 

The  Re\'.  O.  B.  Coit,  St.  Lawrence  District,  Northern  New  significance 
York  Conference :  I  find  that  those  pastors  who  look  out  for  the 
little  things  are  the  ones  who  do  the  best  in  their  collections.  1 
believe  the  subdistrict  convention  plan  and  this  other  plan  which 
has  been  stated  are  good  ones,  and  I  believe  in  the  presiding  elder 
preaching  a  missionary  sermon  in  every  pulpit  in  his  district 
each  year. 

The  Rev.  H.  C.  Stuntz,  D.D.,  Philippine  District,  Malaysia  TheEIderand 
Conference:  Presiding  elders  can  make  it  easy  or  hard  for  their  secretary 
district  missionary  secretaries.  Some  presiding  elders  get  an 
immense  amount  of  work  out  of  the  district  secretary,  and  others 
do  not.  The  district  secretary  ought  to  he  a  man  who  can  talk 
on  missions.  He  ought  to  load  up,  as  Dr.  Oldham  said,  with  the 
best  ammunition  that  can  be  had  in  the  mission  manufacturies  of 
the  world.  Make  it  easy  for  these  men  to  visit  every  church  on 
your  district.  That  is  one  thing  the  presiding  elders  can  do.  The 
district  secretary  can  have  an  immense  amount  to  do  in  relieving 
presiding  elders  in  the  matter  of  arranging  their  conventions  and 
pushing  interest  in  the  convention.  I  count  as  much  u])on  the 
visits  of  a  living,  tactful,  persisting,  well-informed  district  secre- 


362  THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 

tary  in  the  churches  as  I  do  upon  all  the  rest  of  his  work  put 
together. 

A    POLICY    ADOPTED 

1.  To  arrange  a  schedule  whereby  this  Convention  can  be  re- 
ported from  every  pulpit  in  the  district,  either  by  the  presiding 
elders  in  their  rounds  of  the  Quarterly  Conferences  or  by  the 
district  missionary  secretaries,  or  by  the  pastors  who  are  delegates 
to  this  Convention. 

2.  To  secure  the  appointment  of  a  missionary  committee  in 
every  church  in  accordance  with  section  366  of  the  Discipline. 

3.  Presiding  elders  to  have  a  conference  with  this  committee 
concerning  the  nature  of  its  work. 

4.  Under  the  joint  supervision  of  presiding  elders,  district  mis- 
sionary secretary,  and  district  Epworth  League  officers  to  arrange 
for  a  district  missionary  rally  or  a  series  of  group  rallies  through- 
out the  district  to  be  addressed  either  by  outside  speakers  or  by 
delegates  returning  from  this  Convention.  The  public  addresses 
to  be  followed  by  conferences  for  (a)  Mem.bers  of  church  mis- 
sionary committees;  (b)  Epworth  League  officers  and  committee- 
men; (c)  Sunday  school  workers.  Special  efifort  will  be  made  to 
secure  the  attendance  of  the  following  persons:  (a)  District 
officers ;  (b)  Pastors  and  members  of  the  church  missionary 
committee;  (c)  Epworth  League  officers;  (d)  Sunday  school 
superintendents. 

5.  To  emphasize  the  Disciplinary  plan  of  giving  as  set  forth  in 
paragraph  371  of  the  Discipline. 

6.  Presiding  elders  in  their  rounds  of  the  Quarterly  Confer- 
ences to  see  to  the  appointment  of  competent  missionary  com- 
mittees of  the  Epworth  League. 

7.  Pastors  to  be  urged  to  hold  monthly  missionary  prayer 
meetings  in  accordance  with  paragraph  370  of  the  Discipline. 

8.  To  urge  the  use  of  monthly  missionary  exercises  in  the 
Sunday  school  as  provided  in  section  374  of  the  Discipline,  and 
by  the  constitution  of  the  Sunday  school  missionary  society,  and 
contained  in  section  53  of  the  Appendix  to  the  Discipline. 

9.  To  encourage  the  pastors  not  to  be  content  with  raising  the 
apportionment  in  full,  but  to  urge  the  people  to  give  to  the  limit 
of  their  ability. 


WHAT    THE    PASTOR.  CAX    DO  363 

WHAT   THE    PASTOR    CAN    DO 

SECTION    CONFERENCE   DISCUSSION     . 

The  Rev.  Edward  M.  Taylor,  Cambridge.  Mass. ;  How  fre-  Only  Half  the 
quently  we  fall  into  the  habit  of  thinking-  that  the  parish  we  ^®"*8^ 
serve  is  the  only  place  where  our  individuality  is  to  be  operative, 
that  we  are  to  be  agreeably  related  to  the  men  and  women  around 
us,  and  to  see  that  our  reports  to  the  Annual  Conference  are 
worthy  of  the  respect  of  those  in  authority!  How  seldom  we 
think  otherwise  than  simply  of  the  prosperity  that  belongs  to  the 
local  church!  And  yet  that  is  only  one  half  of  the  message  of 
the  Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ.  The  man  or  woman  who  stands  as  a 
leader  of  another  cause,  with  simply  a  partial  conception  of  it,  is 
bound  to  fall  short  of  the  highest  realization  of  that  cause. 
There  is  just  where  the  missionary  cause  in  our  denomination 
halts,  goes  lame.  The  difficulty  of  the  present  hour  arises  out 
of  the  fact  that  as  pastors  and  leaders  of  our  people  we  have 
spent  more  time  perhaps  in  developing  the  indigenous  resources 
of  the  Church  for  local  advantage  than  in  a  broader  view  of  the 
Gospel.  I  do  not  say  that  has  been  intentional  on  our  part,  but 
something  has  been  in  the  atmosphere  for  the  last  twenty-five 
years  that  has  made  it  easy  for  us  to  neglect  the  broader  and 
more  comprehensive  view  of  the  Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ.  As 
we  realize  what  it  is  to  be  a  servant  of  his.  a  shepherd  of  his 
flock,  we  cannot  stop  short  of  realizing  this  fact,  that  our  bounden 
obligation  as  ministers  of  Jesus  Christ  is  to  i)reach  and  develop 
the  unity  of  the  flock  of  Christ  where  we  teach  and  preach,  and 
to  apprehend  this  wider  scope  of  the  Gospel  message. 

We  are  here  this  afternoon  not  simply  to  express  our  obliga-   The 
tion,  but  to  see  if  there  is  any  practical  way  of  coordinating  the   "^iscipline" 
rules  of  the  Discipline  with  the  condition  of  life  that  is  in  our   Problems 
Church  to-day.     I  imagine  that  if  the  laity  of  tlie  Church  should 
be  made  to  realize  that  that  book  is  their  product  and  that  the 
AFethodist  Discipline  is  not  a  product  of  a  star  chamber  in  connec- 
tion with   Church  officials,  but  the  product  of  the  laity  of  the 
Methodist  Church,  we  would  not  have  to  stand  in  that  current 
of    opposition    to    Disciplinary    rules    that    the    minister    often 
has  to  meet  in  the  Quarterly  Conference.     The  Discipline  is  a 
growth^  it  is  an  evolution  of  the  years,  and  it  is  the  wisdom  of 


364 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


the  whole  history  and  the  widest  work  of  our  Church.  Some  one 
has  described  the  Methodist  Disciphne  as  a  sleeping  giant.  We 
want  this  afternoon  to  talk  about  how  to  go  home  and  wake  up 
the  sleeping  giant  for  his  work  in  connection  with  our  Church 
life. 


The 

Missionary 

Committee 


The  Rev.  J.  S.  Chadwick,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. :  My  experience 
has  been  that  in  organizing  a  missionary  committee  the  first 
thing  to  be  done  is  to  find  out  who  of  our  members  are  inter- 
ested in  missionary  work ;  for  in  all  our  churches  there  are 
quite  a  number  of  people,  and  in  some  churches  I  fear  they  are 
in  the  majority,  that  have  next  to  no  interest  in  this  work.  It 
will  not  do  to  put  that  class  of  people  on  the  committee,  for  if  we 
put  them  there  we  have  assured  failure  in  advance.  But  in  every 
church  also  there  is  a  number  of  men  and  women  who  are  deeply 
interested  in  missions.  I  had  hardly  reached  my  present  appoint- 
ment last  April  before  two  of  the  elect  women  of  the  church  came 
to  myself  and  wife,  to  interest  us  in  the  work  of  the  Woman's 
Home  and  the  Woman's  Foreign  Missionary  Society,  and  they 
gave  us  no  rest  until  we  joined  their  societies  and  pledged  our- 
selves to  help  them.  That  is  the  kind  of  men  and  women  to  put 
on  the  missionary  committee.  In  making  up  this  committee  be 
sure  to  include  some  of  your  brightest  and  best  young  people. 
Find  among  them  young  men  and  young  women  who  can  be 
trusted  to  enter  on  this  work.  We  are  making  a  mistake,  in  that 
we  are  divorcing  our  old  and  our  yoimg  to-day.  In  making  up 
this  committee  put  the  young  and  the  old  together,  and  set  them 
at  work  and  keep  your  eye  on  them.  And  when  you  come  to  the 
last  Quarterly  Conference  and  call  for  the  report  of  that  commit- 
tee you  will  find  good  results.  This  is  the  experience  of  one  who 
has  been  in  the  pastorate  and  the  "elderate,"  as  some  one  calls  it. 


Monthly 
Missionary 
Prayer 
Meetings 


The  Rev.  A.  E.  Luce,  Boothbay  Harbor,  Me. :  One  way  to 
take  this  magnificent  Convention  home  to  our  ow^n  fields  is  to 
begin,  if  we  have  not  already  begun,  a  monthly  prayer  meeting. 
We  should  provide  for  it  the  best  array  of  talent  we  have  in  our 
churches.  If  we  get  a  map  with  Paul's  missionary  journeys 
marked  out  upon  it,  and  take  the  map  with  us  into  the  monthly 
missionary  meeting,  and  deal  with  those  missionary  journeys, 
we  will  reveal  to  our  people  something  of  the  start  of  missions. 


WHAT   THE    PASTOR    CAN    DO 


^65 


If  when  we  read  anything  recent  from  the  fields  we  take  tliis  to 
them,  that  will  help  us  in  the  prayer  meeting  to  have  something 
definite  to  pray  about  and  to  ask  God's  blessing  upon,  and  we 
ourselves  will  be  the  better  for  it.  My  message,  if  it  is  for  any- 
body, is  to  that  man  in  the  pastorate  who  has  a  small  scattered 
field,  and  who  says,  "How  can  I  organize  a  prayer  meeting  at 
my  home?  I  will  have  to  do  it  all."  You  may  have  to  do  it  all, 
and  be  like  the  preacher  who  managed  the  funeral,  who  had  to 
sing,  preach,  pray,  and  be  a  bearer — everything  but  the  corpse ; 
but  you  can  afford  to  have  a  missionary  meeting  even  then. 

The  Rev.  John  Handley,  Long  Branch,  N.  J.;  I  made  up  Two  Valued 
my  mind  two  months  ago  to  use  one  prayer  meeting  of  the  month  ^^'^^ 
for  a  missionary  topic,  and  I  desired  to  get  hold  of  the  thing 
that  was  practical,  if  I  did  not  want  to  do  all  the  work  myself. 
I  discovered  two  means  within  my  reach :  First,  that  the 
Simday  School  Journal  each  month  has  one  of  the  simplest  and 
most  comprehensive  missionary  programs  that  has  come  within 
my  reach.  As  all  of  our  teachers  and  many  of  our  scholars  have 
the  Sunday  School  Journal,  I  call  their  attention  to  the  program 
and  take  the  last  midweek  meeting  in  the  month  preceding  the 
taking  of  our  missionary  collection  in  the  Sunday  school  for  that 
missionary  meeting.  Then  I  utilize  the  opportunity  afforded 
by  the  Missionary  Society,  and  distribute  World-Wide  Missions 
among  the  members  who  gave  a  dollar  or  more  to  the  missionary 
cause.  Among  our  members  there  are  over  one  hundred  and 
fifty  copies  circulated,  and  I  ask  the  readers  of  that  paper  to 
come  in  on  missionary  prayer-meeting  night  and  read  the  para- 
graph or  sentence  that  particularly  impressed  them.  In  doing 
that  I  utilize  The  Sunday  School  Journal  and  IVorld-Widc  Mis- 
sions, and  I  bring  to  my  prayer  meeting  and  the  church  nuggets 
of  gold  with  relation  to  the  missionary  field. 


The  Rev.  Appleton  Bash,  Beaver,  Pa. :  Opportunity  is  re-  a  Conceptio.n 
sponsibility,  and  responsibility  predicates  a  judgment,  and  some  ^[i^y  ^°°"' 
day  for  our  opportunities  we  nuist  give  an  account  to  the  great 
Head  of  the  Church,  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  I  am  afraid  that 
many  of  us  in  the  past  have  not  measured  up  to  the  true  concep- 
tion of  our  responsibility  for  the  saving  of  this  whole  world  and 
the  bringing  of  men  to  Almighty  God.     For  a  great  many  years 


366 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


Doubled 
Collections 


An 

Intrenched 

Church 


I  simply  omnibused  my  collections,  and  then  for  some  years  I 
preached  half  a  missionary  sermon  and  half  an  Easter  sermon 
at  Easter  time.  But  when  a  man  tries  to  cover  the  field  of  mis- 
sions in  the  ordinary  limit  of  a  sermon,  you  know  about  what 
the  result  would  be.  About  a  year  ago  I  resolved  to  amend  my 
ways.  I  made  a  list  of  people  whom  I  wanted  to  take  the  World- 
Wide  Missions  and  sent  the  list  with  a  few  dollars  to  have  the 
paper  sent  to  them.  I  believe  it  is  perfectly  legitimate,  that  if 
you  can  put  the  dollar  in  yourself  you  can  put  in  some  other 
man's  name.  Then  I  resolved  to  preach  two  or  three  sermons 
without  a  collection.  Then  I  talked  about  the  subject  here  and 
there  without  any  set  missionary  meeting.  Even  after  what  I 
have  heard  here  to-day  I  don't  propose  to  go  home  and  have  a 
monthly  missionary  meeting,  but  I  will  try  to  throw  in  some- 
thing about  missions  in  every  prayer  meeting  I  have.  On  the 
missionary  night  the  man  that  is  not  interested  in  missions  is 
not  there,  and  you  can  catch  him  oftentimes  when  he  isn't  looking. 
What  was  the  result?  I  have  a  congregation  of  a  little  over 
four  hundred.  My  missionary  collections  have  run  from  three  to 
four  hundred  dollars  a  year.  We  have  done  in  the  past  as  well 
as  they  seemed  to  expect  of  us ;  but  last  year,  as  a  result  of  the 
policy  I  have  outlined,  I  received  from  the  regular  church  offer- 
ings to  the  parent  board  over  eight  hundred  dollars.  I  doubled 
our  former  collection,  and  then  if  we  add  what  came  from  the 
Woman's  Foreign  Missionary  Society  and  the  Home  Missionary 
Society  it  amounted  to  over  twelve  hundred  dollars.  My  point 
is  simply  this,  that  if  we  as  pastors  are  faithful  to  our  opportuni- 
ties, instead  of  the  general  average  of  our  Church  being  twenty- 
five  or  fifty  cents,  it  will  be  three  to  four  dollars  per  member  for 
every  congregation  in  Methodism.  We  have  been  making  the 
mistake  that  was  made  by  General  McClellan.  It  is  an  historical 
fact  that  General  McClellan  was  perhaps  the  greatest  disci- 
plinarian we  had  in  the  army,  perhaps  one  of  the  greatest 
organizers,  a  magnificent  man  inside  of  the  trenches;  and  you 
know  that  down  in  the  Peninsula  he  threw  up  his  intrenchments 
and  was  crying  always  for  reinforcements,  and  seeming  not  to 
care  whether  any  other  great  division  of  the  army  was  robbed, 
so  long  as  his  was  strengthened.  I  sometimes  think  when  I  hear 
the  addresses  at  our  Annual  Conferences  that  there  is  a  great 
deal  of  General  McClellan  in  them.    It  is  simply  calling  for  funds 


WHAT   THE    PASTOR    CAN    DO 


367 


for  general  objects.  After  a  while,  in  the  providence  of  God,  Mr. 
Lincoln  found  a  little  man  out  in  the  West  and  brought  him  to  the 
White  House  and  said  to  him,  "General  Grant,  Almighty  God 
and  the  people  of  the  United  States  expect  you  to  take  Richmond, 
and  to  take  it  mighty  quick."  The  great  battle  was  fought  and 
the  principles  for  which  we  fought  were  victorious,  and  our 
Union  again  was  one,  and,  bless  God,  it  shall  be  inseparable  for- 
ever. Now,  it  seems  to  me  that  what  we  want  to  do  as  pastors  is 
to  get  outside  of  our  intrenchments  and  do  something.  I  believe 
that  every  one  of  us,  in  the  name  of  the  blessed  Master  and  for 
the  sake  of  lost  souls  everywhere,  ought  to  go  back  to  our  homes, 
perhaps  have  our  missionary  prayer  meetings,  but  certainly  in 
some  way  get  information  into  the  minds  of  the  people  and  put 
enthusiasm  into  their  hearts,  until  they  will  feel  it  a  great  bless- 
ing to  spend  and  be  spent  for  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  There  is 
too  much  of  sentiment  and  not  enough  of  actual  toil  in  many  of  Much 
our  congregations.  I  have  watched  my  people  often  singing  with  £,itti™xoii 
seraphic  countenances : 

"Were  the  whole  reahii  of  nature  mine, 

That  were  a  present  far  too  small ; 
Love  so  amazing,  so  divine, 

Demands  my  soul,  my  life,  my  all  ;  " 

and  even  with  the  tears  flowing  down  their  faces  I  have  seen 
them  put  their  hands  in  their  pockets  and  go  down  past  all  the 
gold  and  the  greenbacks  and  the  silver  and  put  a  "measley" 
copper  cent  in  the  collection  basket. 

Recognizing  the  fact  that  we  stand  where  we  can  nullify  the 
effort  of  every  bishop  and  of  every  presiding  elder  and  of  every 
editor  and  of  every  secretary  in  a  thousand  ways — the  pastor,  if 
not  in  sympathy,  can  nullify  the  effort  of  the  Church  to  reach 
the  people;  he  is  the  man  through  whom  they  are  reached — if 
we  shall  be  faithful  and  shall  step  into  the  breach,  speedily 
this  emergency  call  for  an  extra  million  dollars  shall  be  met,  and 
hereafter  it  shall  be  four  or  five  million  dollars  a  year  poured 
into  the  treasury,  and  all  the  world  round  we  shall  hear  the  song 
of  salvation  and  we  shall  have  the  privilege  of  joining  in  the 
final  peal. 


Thf.  Rev.  W.  F.  Sheridan,  Louisville.  Ky. :     I  would  like  to 
indicate  one  or  two  things  that  I  find  helpful  in  spreading  mis- 


368 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


Missionary 
Illustrations 
in  Sermons 


A  Missionary 
Literature  of 
Quality 


sionary  literature.  I  consider  that  we  have,  in  the  immense 
amount  of  missionary  literature  now  before  the  Church,  one  of 
the  most  effective  means  of  disseminating  missionary  informa- 
tion and  of  arousing  missionary  enthusiasm.  I  have  made  it  a 
point  for  some  years  to  weave  in  a  great  deal  of  missionary  in- 
formation, and  missionary  inspiration  I  think,  too,  by  means  of 
illustrations  in  my  sermons  drawn  from  the  lives  of  our  leading 
missionaries,  all  of  them  abounding  with  thrilling  incidents,  to 
illustrate  the  topics  which  we  bring  before  the  people.  In  the 
second  place,  I  have  found  it  advisable  to  use  tracts.  A  tract  is 
a  very  little  thing,  and  yet  in  the  case  of  Bishop  Thoburn  you 
know  it  was  simply  a  little  tract  that  fell  into  his  hands  that 
caused  the  fire  of  missionary  zeal  and  purpose  to  begin  to  glow ; 
and  it  was  that  little  tract  that  began  his  missionary  career.  So 
I  have  sent  out  from  time  to  time  in  my  pastoral  letters  to  my 
people  little  tracts.  One  Christmas,  when  I  sent  Christmas  greet- 
ings I  inclosed  a  little  tract  on  the  death  of  Charles  Gray  at 
Singapore.  I  remember  that  a  lady  of  my  church  told  me  not 
long  afterward,  "My  husband  thought  you  were  not  very  wise 
in  .spending  that  much  money  for  tracts."  Later  he  was  very 
ill,  and  woke  his  wife  up  at  one  o'clock  at  night  and  said,  "Wife, 
that  man  Gray  that  was  told  about  in  that  tract  Mr.  Sheridan 
sent  me  was  a  fine  fellow,  wasn't  he?"  The  upshot  of  it  was  that 
this  godless  man  began  to  pray  for  himself,  and  died  a  few 
weeks  after  that,  saved  by  the  influence  of  this  tract. 

We  are  to-day  knee-deep  in  the  very  best  literature  of  the  world 
on  the  subject  of  missions,  and  it  seems  to  me  that  we  are 
criminally  negligent  if  we  do  not  lay  hold  of  this  splendid  agency 
and  use  it.  I  am  projecting  a  course  of  reading  for  the  young 
men  and  women  of  our  town  this  winter  which  we  call  the  Trinity 
Reading  College.  In  the  list  of  two  hundred  books  sent  out  we 
recommend  about  twenty  missionary  books,  and  we  hope  that  a 
part  of  the  seven  books  which  those  who  join  the  reading  college 
pledge  theselves  to  read  will  be  missionary  books.  So,  by  keeping 
the  subject  before  them,  first  by  World-Wide  Missions,  second 
by  tracts  packed  with  missionary  information,  third  by  the  best 
missionary  books,  and  fourth  by  using  the  splendid  illustrated 
material  that  abounds  on  every  hand  in  the  lives  of  our  heroic 
leaders  of  missions,  we  can,  I  believe,  set  our  people  on  fire  with 
missionary  enthusiasm. 


WHAT    TIIR    PASTOR    CAX    HO  *      369 

Dr.  Jesse  B.  Young,  Cincinnati,  O. :  Every  man  ought  t<. 
take  a  missionary  magazine,  and  he  ought  to  be  one — a  magazine 
of  missionary  information.  Of  course,  he  has  at  hand  the  two 
monthlies  pubhshed  by  the  women's  organizations.  He  ought  to 
have  the  Gospel  in  All  Lands;  he  ought  to  read  tlie  Missionary 
Review  of  the  World.  He  ought  to  send  a  dime  early  in  January 
or  February  and  get  the  large  voliune  publislied  by  the  Missionary 
Society,  a  yearly  vohunc  which  is  packed  full  of  information  of 
all  kinds  of  missionary  data  which  he  needs  to  have  at  hand  when 
he  studies  his  own  denominational  relation  to  missionary  opera- 
tions. And  then  he  ought  to  have,  as  our  brother  has  just  sug- 
gested, in  his  library  a  department  of  missionary  biography.  It 
is  the  most  quickening  and  fascinating  department  of  my  library. 
The  man  who  knows  these  great  missionaries,  who  is  in  touch 
with  their  history,  who  has  stated  an  outline  of  their  lives,  who 
has  gone  in  fancy  with  them  across  the  prairies  and  the  mountains 
and  into  dark  continents  and  over  great  mountain  and  river  bar- 
riers, who  has  accompanied  them  in  cannibal  lands,  in  heathen 
countries,  and  has  come  in  touch  with  their  heroism,  cannot  help, 
if  he  has  any  sort  of  Gospel  fervor,  but  find  his  heart  responding 
in  quickening  touch  to  this  contact  and  companionship.  And  the 
man  who  will  do  that,  and  then,  out  of  the  gathered  information 
and  inspiration  that  has  come  to  him,  give  out  enlarged  informa- 
tion and  quickening  power  to  his  congregation,  will  find  the  re- 
sult of  it  in  an  enlarged  collection. 


Value  of 
Magazines 


The  Study  of 

Missionary 

Biography 


The  Rev.  J.  L.  Reeder,  Concepcion,  Chile :  I  want  to  express 
my  thanks  to  the  pastors  who  are  personal  friends  of  mine,  and 
who  have  sent  me  literature  for  the  last  four  or  five  years.  I 
speak  as  a  pastor,  and  as  a  teacher  from  the  field.  It  has  been 
my  pleasure  to  serve  a  congregation  of  English-speaking  people 
on  the  west  coast  of  South  America,  and  you  may  want  to  know 
what  I  have  done  with  the  literature  which  you  have  sent  me ; 
for  I  believe  you  have  sent  me  tons  of  papers  and  Sunday  school 
literature  which  your  schools  have  collected  from  time  to  time. 

There  is  one  encouraging  fact  with  regard  to  sending  literature  sending 
to   the   mission    fields,   especiallv   to   South    America.      All   the    i-iterature  to 

'  ■  the  Foreign 

literature  in  English  which  you  may  find  in  your  heart  to  send   Field 

them  can  be  distributed  through  the  length  and  the  breadth  of  the 

land — it  is  not  very  broad,  but  is  twenty-six  hundred  nu"les  long — 

84 


370  THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 

free  of  expense ;  for  according  to  the  laws  of  Chile  all  periodicals 
go  free.  It  has  been  my  privilege  to  have  mailing  lists  of  nearly 
one  thousand  English-speaking  people  throughout  the  length 
of  the  country,  from  Point  Arenas  on  the  Straits  of  Magellan  to 
Iquique  in  the  north.  I  have  been  pastor  of  an  English-speaking 
church  and  pastor  of  a  bethel  at  a  port  where  five  hundred  ships 
call  every  year  to  carry  away  saltpeter  from  the  chief  saltpeter 
market  of  the  world.  I  come  in  contact  with  thousands  of 
English  sailors  who  beg  me  for  reading  matter.  I  have  received 
barrels  of  literature  from  Vermont,  where  it  was  my  privilege 
to  serve  a  church.  I  have  distributed  this  literature — magazines, 
the  Advocates,  the  Epzvorth  Herald — broadcast,  and  I  think  I 
can  truly  say  that  the  world  is  my  parish ;  for  these  white-sailed 
messengers  of  commerce  come  from  all  parts  of  the  world.  It 
Mas  my  privilege  last  year  to  visit  some  ships  which  had  been 
there  the  year  before,  and  I  still  saw  the  Western  Christian  Ad- 
vocate filed  away  in  the  cabins  of  the  officers  of  those  ships.  It 
was  a  delight  to  see  that  the  literature  you  sent  out  had  been  so 
prized. 

Systematic  The  Rev.  L.  H.  Stewart,  Massillon,  O. :     One  word  about 

iving  irc  es  ^j^^  relation  of  the  pastor  to  the  Epworth  League  in  this  mission- 
ary work.  The  thing  that  we  need  to  do  as  pastors  is  to  organize 
our  Epworth  Leagues  into  systematic  giving  circles.  When  I 
took  the  charge  I  now  have  the  Epworth  League  had  done  lit- 
erally nothing  for  missions.  We  organized  the  members  into  a 
systematic  giving  circle,  and  during  the  year  they  raised  one 
hundred  and  twenty  dollars,  just  by  giving  a  cent,  two  cents,  five 
cents  a  week,  each  one  of  them  that  would  subscribe  to  that  sys- 
tematic giving  circle.  The  missionary  committee  of  my  Epworth 
League  brought  in  a  report  that  they  had  adopted  the  same  plan 
for  the  coming  year,  and  I  expect  them  to  raise  two  hundred 
dollars  this  year  without  subtracting  a  single  penny  from  the 
regular  missionary  collection.  The  one  thing,  I  believe,  that  is 
needed  on  the  part  of  the  pastor  to  meet  the  problem  of  all  prob- 
lems, so  far  as  our  Epworth  Leagues  are  concerned,  is  to  give 
them  something  to  do.  We  supposed  that  they  would  be  a  great 
army  for  a  great  forward  movement  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church.  Observation  has  shown  that  it  has  not  accomplished 
what  we  hoped  it  would  ;  and  it  will  not  until  we  get  it  organized. 


WHAT    THE    PASTOR    CAN    DO 


37  r 


The  Rev.  J.  Wesley  Potter,  Bloonifield,  Ta. :  I  am  vtrv  The  Pastor  as 
sure  the  reason  why  the  Epworth  League  was  not  a  great  right  *"  Epworth 
arm  of  power  immediately  after  its  organization  was  because  too 
many  of  the  pastors  supposed  it  would  be  such  and  withdrew, 
thinking  it  would  run  itself,  find  work  to  do,  and  do  a  great  deal 
for  the  Church,  and  perhaps  carry  some  of  our  burdens.  I  am 
persuaded  that  if  we  would  more  closely  identify  ourselves  as 
pastors  with  our  local  Epworth  League,  and  be  Epworth  Leaguers 
ourselves,  stay  in  the  League  and  direct  its  efforts,  put  informa- 
tion into  the  hands  of  the  Leaguers,  give  them  something  to  do, 
they  w^ould  not  only  be  glad  to  do  it,  but  the  result  would  be 
apparent. 


The  Rev,  T.  J.  Leak,  Pittsburg,  Pa. :  I  am  convinced  that  we 
are  on  the  wrong  track  entirely  in  making  financial  institutions  of 
our  Epworth  Leagues.  The  League  was  not  organized  as  a 
great  arm  of  service  in  the  Methodist  Church.  It  was  organized 
as  a  training  school  for  our  young  people,  to  teach  them  how  to 
pray  and  sing  and  tell  their  experience  in  Christian  meetings. 
They  have  their  opportunities  to  give,  without  giving  through  the 
Epworth  League.  Ninety-nine  out  of  a  hundred  of  them  are 
members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  and  their  first 
loyalty  in  the  giving  line  is  to  the  Church  and  not  to  the  League. 
I  tell  the  members  of  my  League  that  they  have  no  business  to 
give  one  penny  to  the  Missionary  Society  through  the  League 
until  they  have  met  their  obligations  to  the  Church.  As  members 
of  the  Church  they  are  under  obligations  to  meet  missionary  de- 
mands. I  am  satisfied  that  large  numbers  of  the  young  people  of 
our  communities  are  kept  away  from  our  League  because  of  that 
one  difficulty.  \^ery  many  young  men  and  young  women  in  our 
large  cities  are  compelled  to  live  in  a  hand-to-mouth  manner. 
They  have  very  little  money  beyond  w^hat  is  absolutely  required 
to  feed  and  lodge  and  clothe  them ;  and  to  constantly  have  our 
agents  going  to  them  for  the  INIissionary  Society  makes  it  burden- 
some. All  the  societies  want  help.  The  education  along  these 
lines  is  all  correct.  We  ought  to  have  these  books,  this  literature. 
We  ought  to  tell  our  young  people  all  about  these  things.  Wc 
ought  to  have  in  the  Epworth  League  a  monthly  missionary'  meet- 
ing to  educate  them.  But  let  us  direct  their  money  into  the  regu- 
lar channels  of  the  Church.    Our  Sundav  schools  are  missionary 


The  League 
a  Training 
School 


y]2  THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 

societies,    by   the    order   of    the    Discipline,    and    our    Epworth 
Leaguers  belong  to  the  Sunday  school.    There  is  a  demand  upon 
them  there  every  month,  and  throughout  the  Church  provision  is 
made  for  the  taking  up  of  collections.    I  protest  against  the  whole 
The  League      matter  of  making  our  Epworth  Leagues  agencies   for  financial 
Financial          enterprises.    Teach  them  all  you  can,  but  teach  them  to  give  their 
Agency  money  through  the  regular,  organized  cliannels,  and  don't  add  to 

their  financial  burdens.  Then  give  the  young  people  an  oppor- 
tunity to  get  together  from  time  to  time  without  the  expectation 
that  money  is  to  be  demanded  of  them,  and  don't  expect  them  to 
do  your  revival  and  financial  work.  You  are  to  do  the  work  for 
them ;  the  Church  is  to  work  for  the  League  and  not  the  League 
for  the  Church.    Then  it  will  work  for  the  Church. 

An  Outlet  for        The  Rev.  J.  A.  JoHNSON^    Fairbury,  111.:     I  am  in  sympathy 
Needed  ysi\^}c\  this  brother  who  has  just  spoken  of  pouring  into  the  League 

missionary  intelligence,  circulating  our  libraries,  etc.,  until  they 
feel  like  taking  a  hand  in  this  great  work.  The  other  Sunday 
evening  we  had  our  missionary  meeting,  and  the  treasurer  said : 
"While  every  other  organization  of  the  church  is  represented  in 
the  pastor's  report  of  contributions  to  missions,  the  League  is  not. 
If  the  League  will  give  one  cent  per  week,  or  five  cents  a  month, 
this  League  will  contribute  seventy-five  or  one  hundred  dollars  a 
year  for  that  purpose."  He  put  it  to  a  vote,  and  the  League 
unanimously  voted  to  adopt  that  plan.  When  the  cabinet  met, 
one  of  our  brethren  drew  the  "little  black  book"  and  quoted  the 
provision  of  the  constitution  of  the  League  that  it  shall  not  be 
used  for  the  collection  of  any  money  except  for  its  League  ex- 
penses. I  believe  that  if  we  pour  in  the  missionary  enthusiasm 
and  intelligence  into  our  League  there  ought  to  be  a  provision  by 
which  we  can  garner  in  the  dollars. 

The  Sunday  The  Rev.  T.  A.  H.  O'Brien,  Wilmington,  Del. :     I  serve  a 

'^  °°  church  in  the  city  of  Wilmington  that  grew  out  of  a  Sunday 

school.  We  celebrated  our  fiftieth  anniversary  last  May.  The 
Sunday  school  is  organized  into  a  missionary  society.  We  take 
a  collection  every  Sunday  for  missions.  I  see  to  it  that  the  teach- 
ers have  the  latest  missionary  information.  Everything  that  I  see 
bearing  on  the  subject  of  missions,  that  I  think  the  pupils  ought 
to  have,  I  secure  and  put  into  their  hands.    Then  I  impress  them 


WHAT    THE    PASTOR    TAX    DO  «        373 

with  the  importance  of  having  their  classes  meet  them  at  their 
homes  once  a  month,  and  they  give  to  their  classes  the  latest  in- 
formation on  the  subject  of  missions.  As  a  result,  our  Sunday 
school's  contribution  to  missions  exceeds  in  dollars  the  number 
of  the  members  of  our  Sabbath  school. 

The  Rev.  G.  F.  Sutherland,  Maquoketa,  la.:  \Ve  should  see  Tlie 
that  the  young  people  are  intelligent  on  the  subject  of  missions,  campa^gn^ 
Our  Sunday  schools  should  place  more  emphasis  on  this  matter  Libraries 
of  education.  I  know  of  Sunday  schools  that  take  collections 
once  a  month  for  missions,  and  the  children  do  not  know  what  the 
money  is  going  for.  I  believe  that  our  Epworth  League  should 
become  better  informed,  and  this  may  be  done  through  the  mis- 
sionary study  class  where  Epworth  Leaguers  and  Sunday  school 
teachers  gather  together  for  the  definite  study  of  missions.  Our 
Sunday  schools  in  their  monthly  missionary  meetings,  our  Ep- 
worth Leagues  in  their  monthly  missionary  meetings,  will  be 
drawing  from  these  young  people  testimony  and  information  they 
have  gathered  from  missionary  books  such  as  are  in  the  Mission- 
ary Campaign  Libraries.  The  key  to  all  the  work  is  missionary 
intelligence  and  the  key  to  missionary  intelligence  among  our 
young  people  is  the  missionary  study  class ! 

The  Rev.  C.  G.  Doney,  Columbus,  O. :  We  have  a  Sabbath  Support  of 
school  wdiose  attendance  is  three  hundred  and  twenty-six.  W'c  Abroad 
maintain  an  interest  in  missions  by  supporting  and  educating  a 
girl  and  a  boy  in  the  foreign  field.  We  also  contribute  to  tlie  regu- 
lar fund.  We  make  three  special  days  in  the  year :  the  day  on 
which  we  take  our  collection  for  the  lad  that  we  are  educating,  the 
day  also  on  which  we  receive  offerings  for  the  girl,  a  day  also  in 
which  we  receive  our  regular  educational  contribution.  Once  a 
month,  however,  our  contribution  is  for  tlie  support  of  the  general 
fund.  We  have  hanging  upon  the  walls  of  the  Sunday  school 
room  the  pictures  of  the  girls  that  in  years  ])ast  have  been  cared 
for  and  educated.  We  have  from  the  girls  that  have  already 
received  their  education,  and  from  the  boys,  letters  now  and  then, 
and  from  the  missionaries  who  have  liad  them  in  charge  and 
who  are  now  in  charge  of  them.  Our  Sunday  school  collection 
will  average  about  nine  dollars  a  Sunday.  That  comes  from 
practically  all  the  scholars.     Not  any  give  largely,  but  T  am  safe 


374 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


in  saying  that  nearly  all  give  something.  In  this  way  we  have 
no  difficulty  in  maintaining  the  expenses  of  the  school  and  in 
doing  something  for  the  larger  interests  of  the  kingdom  abroad. 


A  Higher 
Plane 


The  Command 
of  Christ 


An  Essential 
Part  of 
Church  Work 


The  Rev.  George  B.  Smyth,  field  secretary  of  the  Missionary 
Society:  The  whole  subject  of  missions  needs  to  be  raised  to  a 
higher  plane  altogether  in  the  thought  of  the  Church  than  it  has 
occupied  hitherto.  When  I  came  back  from  China  some  time 
ago  one  of  the  first  letters  I  received  was  from  a  brother  in 
Kansas  whose  name  and  Conference  I  don't  remember,  and  this 
was  the  request  which  he  made  me.  He  said:  "I  hear  that  you 
have  just  come  back  from  China,  where  you  have  lived  for  a  good 
many  years,  and  I  am  making  a  collection  of  gods  and  goddesses 
in  order  to  travel  about  this  district  and  exhibit  them  to  the 
people,  to  increase  their  interest  in  missionary  work.  If  you  can 
send  any  Chinese  gods  or  goddesses  I  shall  be  much  obliged."  I 
pitied  the  district  in  Kansas  which  had  to  depend  for  its  mission- 
ary interest  upon  the  exhibition  of  gods  and  goddesses  by  a  man 
who  knew  nothing  about  the  one  or  the  other. 

One  trouble  is  that  the  whole  subject  of  missions  is  considered 
as  something  entirely  outside  of  the  regular  work  of  t^-  -  Church. 
It  is  considered  a  sort  of  strain  or  extra  kind  of  philanthropy  or 
charity,  and  appeals  are  constantly  made  to  the  people's  sym- 
pathy, and  harrowing  descriptions  are  given  of  the  lives  of  the 
heathen.  Pastors  often  forget  this  great  fact,  that  the  only 
foundation  upon  which  interest  in  this  work  can  be  based  at  all  is 
obedience  to  the  personal  command  of  Jesus  Christ.  We  are  not 
to  send  missionaries  to  the  heathen,  because  these  people  bind 
their  feet  or  worship  little  wooden  idols.  The  sole  basis  is  that 
they  don't  know  the  God  whom  Jesus  Christ  has  revealed,  no 
matter  what  kind  of  gods  or  goddesses  they  worship.  And  I 
find  this,  that  where  a  pastor  has  emphasized  this  fundamental 
basis  of  the  missionary  work,  and  has  treated  it  as  one  of  the 
fundamental  purposes  of  the  Church,  there  he  has  succeeded  in 
raising  large  missionary   collections. 

Again,  we  ought  to  deal  with  this  matter  systematically.  A  great 
many  pastors  treat  of  the  subject  of  missions  but  once  a  year,  and 
that  unfortunately  at  the  time  when  the  missionary  collection  is 
to  be  taken  up.  We  ought  to  regard  missions  as  an  essential  part 
of  the  work  of  the  Church.     Some  time  ago  I  was  up  in  central 


WHAT    THE    PASTOR    CAN    DO 


375 


Idaho,  where  I  met  a  preacher  who  told  me  that  when  he  hegan 
his  ministry  in  that  church  the  people  were  giving  a  few  cents 
per  member,  and  there  was  no  Woman's  Foreign  Missionary 
Society  at  all.  He  said:  "This  is  part  of  the  regular  work  of  the 
Church.  There  are  fifty-two  Sundays  on  which  I  may  preach ; 
why  shouldn't  I  give  a  proper  number  of  those  to  this  great  work 
of  foreign  missions  ?"  So  once  a  month  he  gave  them  a  summary 
of  the  missionary  work  of  the  month,  so  far  as  he  could  learn  it. 
And  after  treating  the  subject  in  this  systematic  way  the  result 
was  that  in  twelve  months  the  members  of  that  little  church  were 
giving  over  a  dollar  a  member,  and  there  was  a  Woman's  Foreign 
Missionary  Society  which  was  subscribing  seven  dollars  a  mem- 
ber per  annum.  That  was  the  result  of  treating  missionary  work 
systematically. 

I  have  spent  the  quarter  of  my  life  on  the  foreign  field,  and  do  A  Systematic 
not  know  as  well  as  you  do  how  the  people  in  this  country  ouglit 
to  be  approached  on  the  subject  of  missions.  But  of  one  thing  I 
am  certain,  and  that  is  that  it  ought  to  be  treated  systematically 
and  as  an  essential  part  of  the  work  of  the  Church,  and  that  in- 
terest in  it  ought  to  be  looked  upon  as  an  essential  part  of  the 
Christian  character.  Of  this  I  am  most  assured,  that  the  degree 
of  interest  in  missions  felt  by  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  wall  depend  upon  the  degree  of  their  own  religious  life. 
Get  them  to  love  God,  to  feel  the  power  of  Jesus  Christ  in  their 
own  hearts,  and  then  we  shall  have  no  trouble  in  trying  to  interest 
them  in  the  work  of  Jesus  Christ  abroad. 


The  Rev.  Hugh  Johnston,  D.D.,  Baltimore,  Md.:  It  strikes 
me  that  the  apportionment  should  be  the  minimum,  the  very  least, 
our  churches  should  give  to  this  work  of  missions.  We  are  in 
charge  of  the  commissariat,  and  we  cannot  furnish  supplies  for 
the  conquest  of  the  world  by  an  annual  plate  collection  of  dimes 
and  nickels.  Our  missionaries  who  are  at  the  front  are  our  rep- 
resentatives who  are  fighting  the  battle  for  us ;  and  when  they 
are  calling  for  fresh  supplies,  when  they  are  calling  for  help,  in 
all  fairness  to  our  brethren  we  owe  it  to  them  to  send  on,  if  pos- 
sible, the  needed  reinforcements.  The  General  Missionary  Com- 
mittee can  very  greatly  help  the  cause  by  encouraging  the 
churches  not  only  to  raise  the  apportionment,  but  also  to  take 
upon  them  the  charge  of  individual  missionaries  and  native  hclp- 


The 

Apportion- 
ment the 
Minimum 


3/6 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


ers.  This  can  be  done  if  each  preacher  has  been  brought  to  feel 
the  responsibihty  of  that  command,  "Go  ye  into  all  the  world,  and 
preach  the  Gospel,"  and  to  realize  that  it  is  for  him  to  go  or  to 
send.  It  will  very  greatly  strengthen  him  if  he  feels  that  for  four 
dollars  a  month  he  can  have  a  substitute  in  the  foreign  field  to 
carry  on  the  work  for  him  there.  Our  churches  can  do  very  much 
more  than  is  involved  in  simply  raising  the  apportionment  as- 
signed them.  I  have  the  privilege  of  serving  a  church  where  a 
brother,  who  contributes  regularly  to  meet  this  apportionment, 
has  been  sustaining  schools,  and  through  his  noble  giving  in  the 
last  twelve  or  fifteen  years  there  has  been  added  to  the  foreign 
membership  of  the  Church  thirty  thousand  members. 


How 

Apportion- 
ments are 
Made 


The  Rev.  G.  E.  Strobridge,  New  York  city :  I  think  there  is 
no  question  that  the  full  apportionment  for  missions  should  be 
considered  the  minimum ;  it  should  be  the  bottom,  should  be  that 
from  which  and  above  which  we  should  plan  to  build.  If  I  am 
correctly  informed  and  understand  it  aright  that  apportionment 
is  itself,  by  the  action  of  the  General  Committee,  a  minimum  sum ; 
that  is,  they  have  looked  over  the  entire  field  of  work ;  they  see 
how  much  money  is  needed ;  then  they  fix  on  a  total  sum  less 
than  the  actual  need,  and  this  sum  is  apportioned  to  the  churches. 
And  we  should  certainly  consider  it  the  smallest  amount  that  the 
church  can  give,  and  ought  to  aim  in  every  case  to  add  to  it.  We 
all  know  that  if  a  church  gives  well  one  year  the  next  year  its 
apportionment  will  be  raised ;  we  have  found  that  out  by  experi- 
ence. If  our  church  does  well,  phenomenally  well,  and  we  are 
sticking  feathers  in  our  hats,  at  the  next  session  of  the  Quarterly 
Conference  we  will  be  informed  that  our  apportionment  has  been 
raised,  and  there  is  sometimes  a  little  feeling  about  that.  And 
there  is  a  disposition  among  some  of  our  official  brethren  not  to 
do  the  best  they  can,  for  the  very  reason  that  they  will  be  asked 
to  do  still  more  next  time.  I  think  it  is  a  compliment  that  they 
should  venture  to  ask  more  of  us  than  w^e  gave  the  past  year  At 
all  events,  let  us  ease  our  consciences,  and  feel  that  we  are  all 
right  with  God  by  calling  that  the  bottom  sum,  and  build  it  up. 
We  can  accomplish  the  result  in  part  through  the  monthly  mis- 
sionary prayer  meeting.  I  am  in  a  church  that  is  very  conserva- 
tive, an  old  church  where  they  bank  themselves  on  their  prayer 
meetings.    It  is  one  of  their  great  things ;  it  is  a  magnificent  meet- 


WHAT    THIi    PASTOR    CAN    DO 


yji 


ing,  one  of  the  largest  I  ever  had,  full  of  earnestness  and  spiritu- 
ality, and  to  break  in  once  a  month  with  a  missionary  prayer 
meeting  would  be  almost  a  convulsion.  But  we  have  flanked 
somewhat  by  putting  a  little  elasticity  in  the  "little  black  book," 
and  started  with  a  missionary  prayer  meeting  once  in  three  The 
months.  We  have  had  two  and  the  people  have  enjoyed  them  ^^"■'J'^°*''y 
amazingly.  My  belief  is  that  when  they  become  really  enamored  Meeting 
of  this  meeting  we  will  have  it  once  in  two  months,  and  then 
once  a  month,  without  breaking  the  current  of  that  splendid 
prayer  meeting  to  which  they  are  accustomed.  I  think  that  if 
through  the  prayer  meeting  we  educate  the  people  intellectually 
and  spiritually  we  will  have  no  trouble  in  making  that  the 
minimum  amount,  and  then  even  stand  an  additional  apportion- 
ment fron:  year  to  vear. 


Problem 


A     POLICY     ADOPTED 

We,  the  pastoral  delegates  to  the  First  General  Missionary 
Convention  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  in  Section  Con- 
ference assembled,  believing  that  all  men  are  responsible  accord- 
ing to  the  measure  of  their  opportunity  for  the  world's  conver- 
sion, do  solemnly  pledge  ourselves  to  do  all  that  is  within  our 
power  to  arouse  a  wider  and  more  enthusiastic  interest  in  the  sub- 
ject of  missions,  and  to  use  our  best  endeavors  to  secure  the 
cooperation  and  sympathy  of  all  our  people  in  the  great  forward 
movement  of  the  Church ;  and  that  this  may  be  done  the  more 
eiTectively  we  make  the  folowing  recommendations : 

1.  The  appointment  of  a  missionary  committee  in  every  church, 
according  to  paragraph  366  of  the  Discipline. 

2.  The  appointment  of  a  missionary  committee  in  every  Ep- 
worth  League,  according  to  Article  IV,  section  I,  of  the  Epworth 
League  Constitution. 

3.  The  maintenance  of  a  monthly  missionary  prayer  meeting 
in  every  church,  as  provided  in  paragraph  370  of  the  Discipline, 
aiming  to  secure  the  participation  of  as  many  members  as  possible 
in  these  meetings,  and  to  secure  the  reading  of  missionary  books 
in  preparation  therefor. 

4.  The  use  of  the  monthly  missionary  exercises  each  month  in 
every  Sunday  school,  provided  in  paragraph  374  of  the  Discipline, 
and  in  the  Sabbath  school,  paragraph  53  of  the  Appendix,  and  as 
outlined  in  the  Sunday  School  Journal. 


A  Wider 
Interest 
Sought 


37^ 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


5.  The  adoption  by  all  our  members,  especially  the  young,  of 
the  Disciplinary  plan  of  giving,  as  outlined  in  paragraph  371  of 
the  Discipline. 

6.  The  preaching  of  frequent  sermons  and  making  repeated 
reference  to  missionary  books  and  heroes,  in  such  a  way  as  to 
induce  the  reading  of  missionary  literature  by  the  congregation. 

7.  The  recommendation  and  circulation  of  missionary  books 
in  connection  with  pastoral  calls. 

8.  The  readiness  to  report  this  Convention  to  neighboring 
churches,  as  opportunity  may  offer  and  as  duties  may  permit. 

9.  The  sending  of  copies  of  this  policy,  signed  by  the  pastoral 
delegates,  to  each  district,  together  with  a  personal  letter  to  each 
pastor  of  the  district  who  has  been  unable  to  attend  this  Con- 
vention. 

10.  The  carrying  out,  as  far  as  possible,  of  the  plans  contained 
on  pages  23  and  36  of  the  Workers'  Manual  of  the  Open  Door 
Emergency  Movement. 

11.  To  regard  the  apportionment  in  full,  whether  the  appor- 
tionment be  made  at  the  office  in  New  York,  by  the  district  com- 
mittee, or  by  whatever  authority,  as  the  minimur^  sum  to  be 
raised  in  every  church,  the  maximum  being  the  church's  ability 
to  pay. 


WHAT   THE    LAY   WORKER    CAN    DO 


Definite 
Methods 
Suggested 


SECTION    CONFERENCE    DISCUSSION 

Mr.  Horace  Hitchcock,  Detroit,  Mich.:  The  Discipline  pro- 
vides that  a  missionary  committee  should  be  appointed  at  the  last 
Quarterly  Conference  held  during  the  Conference  year,  and  that 
it  is  the  duty  of  that  committee  to  assist  the  pastor  in  working 
up  the  interests  of  missions  in  the  church.  There  are  no  definite 
methods  mentioned  in  connection  with  this  announcement  of  the 
appointment  of  the  committee.  In  the  church  with  which  I  am 
connected  this  rule  has  been  carried  out,  so  far  as  the  appointment 
of  the  committee  is  concerned,  but  I  feel  that  it  has  not  been  of 
very  great  service  in  the  church,  except  in  assisting  the  pastor  in 
seeing  that  the  collection  is  increased.  My  thought  in  regard  to 
the  usefulness  of  this  committee  is  that  in  the  first  place  it  should 
be  a  prompter  to  the  pastor.    He  is  called  upon  by  every  depart- 


WHAT    TITF.    LAY    WORKRR    CAN    DO 


379 


nicnt  of  the  church  io  devote  time  and  energy  in  its  development. 
The  local  committee  would  have  a  most  excellent  opportunity  to 
prompt  the  pastor  in  doing  such  work  as  may  be  provided.  Then, 
too,  the  pastor  might  be  relieved  of  very  much  of  his  burden  by 
this  committee.  If  the  committee  would  develop  a  series  of 
meetings  each  year,  perhaps  connected  with  the  regular  prayer 
meeting,  for  the  purpose  of  educating  our  people  in  the  things 
that  pertain  to  missionary  work,  and  aside  from  our  Church 
papers  and  in  addition  thereto  see  that  missionary  literature  gets 
into  our  families,  and  urge  the  people  to  read  it.  and  thus  create 
in  their  hearts  a  greater  interest  in  the  spread  of  the  Gospel 
throughout  the  world,  they  could  do  a  great  work.  The  local 
committee  should  also  see  that  the  Sunday  school  of  the  church 
carries  out  the  Disciplinary  plan.  I  know  from  observation  and 
experience  that  the  missionary  society  connected  with  the  Sunday  Value  of  the 
schools  is  really  of  no  very  great  value,  simply  for  the  reason  that  ^^^^-^ 
it  is  a  machine  that  is  not  worked.  It  is  never  oiled  and  seldom  Missionary 
is  there  any  power  applied  to  it,  and  therefore  little  or  nothing  is 
done.  I  believe  the  Sunday  school  is  a  power,  and  if  we  want  a 
missionary  church,  then  we  need  the  addition  of  a  missionary 
Sunday  school  to  aid  in  the  creating  of  an  interest  in  the  hearts 
of  the  bovs  and  girls. 


Society 


Mr.  L.  M.  Hall,  Garden  City,  Kan. :  In  my  experience,  the  Zealous  Men 
missionary  committee  in  the  local  church  has  failed  to  do  much,  ^qj.^°"^ 
if  anything,  but  the  failure  may  have  been  on  the  part  of  the 
pastor  in  selecting  proper  men.  If  a  layman  is  a  godly  man  his 
heart  goes  out  across  the  oceans,  and  he  has  great  zeal  for  the 
evangelization  of  the  world.  Such  men  may  greatly  aid  the  cause, 
and  if  they  have  this  feeling  they  can  be  of  great  assistance  to 
the  pastor.  The  pastor  should  be  more  judicious  in  trying  to 
place  these  important  trusts  in  the  hands  of  godly  men,  men  of 
zeal  for  the  cause  and  the  extension  of  the  kingdom  of  our  blessed 
Master. 


Mr.  D.  L.  Tuttle.  Buffalo,  N.  Y. :     The  laymen  can  help  in   Arousing 
several  ways.     One  way  is  in   arousing  the  enthusiasm  of  the   f^JJ^'J.""^ 
members  of  the  church.    The  pastor  who  makes  up  or  selects  the   Members 
members  to  work  in  this  committee  has  difficulty  in  getting  per- 
sons to  .serve,  and  it  does  his  heart  good  to  hear  some  one  say, 


38o 


THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


Large  Sunday 
School  Gifts 


Personal 
Touoh  with 
Missionaries 


Business  Men 
and  Missions 


"Here  am  I,  send  me."  In  getting  up  this  committee,  in  addition 
to  strong  members,  a  thorough  organization  is  necessary.  In  the 
second  place,  the  layman  who  wishes  to  arouse  his  Sunday  school 
must  set  the  scholars  a  pattern  himself,  and  he  must  give  of  his 
means  and  must  pray  unceasingly.  Let  us  not  lose  sight  of  the 
fact  also  that  God  has  intrusted  us  with  the  money  we  possess,  and 
we  are  not  doing  our  duty  until  we  have  paid  our  debts  to  him, 
according  to  our  condition.  We  may  think  we  cannot  do  much, 
but  let  us  do  what  we  can  cheerfully. 

Mr.  D.  S.  Gray,  Columbus,  O. :  In  the  Broad  Street  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  Columbus,  the  Sunday  school  expenses  are 
paid  out  of  a  budget  of  the  church.  The  Sunday  school  is  or- 
ganized into  a  missionary  society,  and  every  Sabbath  a  missionary 
collection  is  taken  by  classes  and  announced.  The  Sunday  school 
does  not  average  over  four  hundred  in  attendance,  with  a  weekly 
collection  of  fourteen  or  fifteen  dollars,  but  in  this  way  we  make 
up  seven  or  eight  hundred  dollars  for  missions. 

Mr.  E.  B.  Moore,  Elizabeth,  N.  J. :  I  would  suggest  that  we 
get  in  touch  with  some  one  missionary,  so  that  we  can  look  upon 
him  as  our  own.  We  have  found  that  when  we  are  in  direct  touch 
with  an  individual  missionary  it  brings  the  subject  home  to  us, 
and  when  our  superintendent  or  our  pastor  writes,  and  that  letter 
is  answered  by  the  individual,  then  we  learn  something  about  the 
work.  I  believe  it  is  possible  for  every  church  and  every  Sunday 
school  to  be  thus  represented  and  to  be  in  touch  with  a  particular 
missionary,  in  a  particular  field,  and  I  believe  it  will  work  for 
great  good,  as  it  has  in  our  experience,  and  it  will  be  a  wonderful 
encouragement  to  the  missionary  to  know  that  several  hundred 
prayers  are  being  regularly  ofifered  up  in  his  behalf. 

Mr.  L.  D.  Wishard,  New  York  city :  I  am  led  to  believe  that 
what  we  need  is  more  reading  and  more  considering  of  the  facts 
in  regard  to  missions.  One  of  the  most  widely  known  business 
men  said  to  me  that  he  did  not  have  time  to  read.  He  has  a  good 
deal  of  interest  in  missions,  but  he  doesn't  read,  he  doesn't  know 
the  great  facts  in  regard  to  missions.  If  all  our  Christian  business 
men  would  read  two  or  three  good  missionary  books  it  would 
settle  the  missionary  question  so  far  as  money  is  concerned.  Have 
we  read  Blaikie's  Personal  Life  of  David  Livingstone?     Any 


WHAT   THE    LAY    WORKER    CAN    DO  *     381 

man  who  reads  that  book  will  want  to  go  to  Africa,  but  whether 
or  not  it  takes  us  to  Africa,  a  man  is  not  prepared  to  stay  in 
America  until  he  has  desired  to  give  his  life  to  the  needy  fields. 
I  know  of  a  man  who  has  read  a  good  many  missionary  books, 
and  two  or  three  years  ago  he  invested  a  couple  of  hundred 
dollars  in  these  books  that  he  might  have  them  to  lend  to  busy 
men.  One  may  or  one  may  not  find  it  possible,  after  dragging 
through  the  long  hours  of  a  business  day,  to  go  to  the  missionary 
meeting.  He  ought  to  do  so,  but  he  may  not  do  it,  but  he  can 
occasionally  read  one  of  these  purifying  and  uplifting  missionary 
books,  and  it  will  do  him  great  good. 

A     RESOLUTION      ADOPTED 

It  is  the  sense  of  this  Laymen's  Section  Conference,  in  order  Systematic 
that  the  pressing  financ'al  needs  of  our  Missionary  Society  may  ®'^*°S 
be  amply  met,  and  funds  provided  to  carry  out  the  work  as 
planned,  that  we  recommend  that  our  pastors  generally  be  re- 
quested to  call  the  attention  of  their  people  to  the  subject  of 
"Systematic  Giving,"  that  the  people  may  be  educated  in  this 
great  line  of  Christian  work  and  practice. 

A     POLICY     ADOPTED 

1.  To  secure  the  appointment  in  each  church  of  a  missionary 
committee  as  provided  in  paragraph  366  of  the  Discipline,  and  to 
give  to  this  committee  the  benefit  of  the  plans  and  suggestions 
gathered  at  this  Convention. 

2.  To  report  this  Convention  to  the  home  church  and  Epworth 
League,  and  the  neighboring  churches  and  Epworth  Leagues,  as 
opportunity  may  present. 

3.  To  promote  the  missionary  finances  in  every  church  accord- 
ing to  the  Disciplinary  plan,  as  provided  in  paragraph  370  of  the 
Discipline. 

4.  To  urge  the  use  of  monthly  missionary  exercises  in  every 
Sunday  school. 

5.  To  suggest  to  our  pastors  and  to  our  respective  churches  the 
holding  of  monthly  missionary  prayer  meetings  in  accordance 
with  paragraph  370  of  the  Discipline. 

6.  To  begin  quietly  a  systematic  campaign  of  reading,  loaning, 
and  circulating  the  most  interesting  missionary  books  among  the 
members  of  our  local  churches. 


382  THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 

WHAT   THE   YOUNG   PEOPLE   CAN    DO 

A    POLICY    ADOPTED 

1.  To  secure  the  appointment  of  a  missionary  committee  in  our 
respective  Epworth  Leagues  where  such  committees  have  not 
already  been  appointed. 

2.  To  secure  the  possession  and  circulation  of  one  or  both 
Missionary  Campaign  Libraries. 

3.  To  secure  the  organization  of  a  mission  study  class  in  our 
respective  Epworth  Leagues. 

4.  To  study  carefully  The  Missionary  Spoke  of  the  Epzvorth 
Wheel. 

5.  To  secure  the  use  of  a  monthly  missionary  exercise  in  all 
our  Sunday  schools. 

6.  To  secure  the  appointment  of  a  district  missionary  com- 
mittee if  such  committee  has  not  already  been  appointed. 

7.  To  report  this  Convention  to  our  Epworth  Leagues  and 
Sunday  schools  upon  our  return. 

8.  To  improve  all  opportunities  of  reporting  the  Convention 
to  neighboring  Epworth  Leagues  and  Sunday  schools. 

9.  To  endeavor  to  secure  special  attention  to  methods  of  mis- 
sionary work  at  our  next  district  Sunday  school  and  Epworth 
League  conventions. 

10.  To  cooperate  with  our  presiding  elder  and  district  mission- 
ary secretary  in  the  conduct  of  missionary  rallies  through  our 
district,  endeavoring  especially  to  secure  the  attendance  of  key 
workers  from  each  Epworth  League  and  Sunday  school. 

11.  To  carry  out  in  our  Sunday  school  as  far  as  possible  the 
plans  suggested  in  the  Open  Door  Emergency  Movement  Work- 
ers' Manual,  pages  28  to  32. 

12.  To  send  copies  of  this  policy  to  all  Epworth  League  presi- 
dents and  first  vice  presidents  within  the  district,  and  to  the  dis- 
trict presidents  and  first  vice  presidents,  these  to  be  accompanied 
by  a  personal  letter. 

13.  To  send  copies  of  these  resolutions  to  all  Sunday  school 
superintendents  of  each  district,  calling  especial  attention  to  the 
clauses  pertaining  to  the  Sunday  school  work  and  accompanying 
the  policy  with  a  personal  letter. 


APPENDIX 


APPENDIX 


CONVENTION  OFFICERS  AND  COMMITTEES 

Bishop  E.  G.  Andrews,  CJtairman 

The  Rev.  Stephen  O.  Benton,  D.D.,  Secretary 

Mr,  J.  G.  Vaughan,  Assistant  Secretary 

GENERAL    EXECUTIVE    COMMITTEE 

Bishop  E.  G.  Andrews,  Chairman 
Mr.  S.  Earl  Taylor,  Secretary 
The  Rev.  A.  B.  Leonard,  LL.D. 
Henry  K.  Carroll,  LL.D. 
The  Rev.  J.  F.  Goucher,  LL.D. 

CLEVELAND    LOCAL    EXECUTIVE    COMMITTEE 

The  Rev.  Charles  Bayard  Mitchell,  D.D.,  Chairman 
The  Rev.  John  L.  Hillman,  D.D.,  Secretary 
Mr.  Charles  F.  Laughlin,  Treasurer 
The  Rev.  Ward  Beecher  Pickard,  D.D. 
Mr.  James  R.  Mills,  Jr. 

GENERAL    FINANCE    COMMITTEE 

The  Rev.  J.  O.  Wilson.  D.D. 

Mr.  S.  W.  Bowne 

Mr.  Archer  Brown 

Mr.  John  S.  Huyler 

Mr.  Anderson  Fowler 

Mr.  A.  H.  De  Haven 

Mr.  John  M.  Cornell 

LOCAL    FINANCE    COMMITTEE 

Mr.  L.  D.  Albin,  Chairtnan 
Mr,  C.  F.  Laughlin 
Mr.  J.  R.  Mills.  Jr. 
Mr.  F.  E.  Stevens 
25  Mr.  C.  W.  Thomas 


386  THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 

ON    ENLISTING   DELEGATES 

Mr.  Edmund  D.  Soper 
The  Rev.  Wilson  S.  Naylor 
Mr.  W.  Scott  Corlis 

ON   TRANSPORTATION 
Mr.  W.  C.  McKee 

ON    MISSIONARY   EXHIBIT 
Mr.  R.  E.  Diffendorfer 

ON    PRESS    AND   GENERAL    ADVERTISING 

Mr.  Charles  H.  Fahs 

The  Rev.  S.  J.  Herben,  Lit.D. 

ON    PRINTED   MATTER 

Mr.  C.  V.  Vickrey 
Mr.  Burton  St.  John 
The  Rev.  J.  R.  Woodcock 

ON   MUSIC 

Mr.  C.  W.  Keeler 
Mr.  E.  W.  Peck 
The  Rev.  P.  H.  Metcalf 
Mr.  Paul  Gilbert 

BUSINESS    COMMITTEE 

Mr.  C.  C.  Michener 
Mr.  E.  T.  Colton 

ON    PLACE    OF    MEETING 
Mr.  H.  A.  Wilbur 

ON   USHERS 
Mr.  A.  J.  Prentice 

ON    SPEAKERS 
The  Rev.  Hedding  B.  Leech 

ON    PROMOTION    OF    PRAYER 
The  Rev.  F.  D.  Gamewell,  Ph.D. 


APPENDIX  *      337 

ON   SECTION   MEETINGS 

Mr.  Charles  V.  Vickrey 

The  Rev.  George  Milton  Fowles 

The  Rev.  William  W.  Youngson 

ON   FINANCIAL   SESSION 

The  Rev.  J.  F.  Goucher,  D.D. 
The  Rev.  A.  B.  Leonard.  LL.D. 
Henrj'  K.  Carroll.  LL.D. 
The  Rev.  VV.  F.  Oldham.  D.D. 
The  Rev.  G.  B.  Smyth.  D.D. 
The  Rev.  F.  D.  Gamewell,  Ph.D. 
The  Rev.  E.  M.  Taylor,  D.D. 
The  Rev.  H.  C.  Stuntz,  D.D. 

COMMITTEE   ON    REGISTRATION 

Mr.  Harry  Wade  Hicks 

The  Rev.  Thomas  Eddy  Taylor,  D.D. 

The  Rev.  Robert  E.  Harned 

Miss  M.  Elizabeth  Hunter 

Miss  Bessie  Brooks 

ON    POST    OFFICE 

Mrs.  Charles  F.  Laughlin 

ON    INFORMATION    BUREAU 

The  Rev.  Wilson  S.  Naylor 

ON   RECEPTION   OF    DELEGATES 
The  Presiding  Elders  and  Pastors  of  Cleveland 


388  THE    CLEVELAND    MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


A    CARD    SENT   TO    ALL   PROSPECTIVE    DELEGATES   AND 
TO    OTHERS    ESPECIALLY   INTERESTED 


Kemrmfaer  in  liailp  prapcr  tijc  (General  ;i[ftt66ianarp  Con-- 
tjentton  of  tl)e  fUet^iotiiet  C^piscnpal  Cljurcl),  to  be 
1x15  in  ClebclanH,  (BUo,  ©ctobcr  21  to  24,  1902 : 

That  those  whom  God  would  have  to  lead  the  Church  to 
larger  and  nobler  achievements  in  world-wide  evangelization 
may  be  designated  as  delegates  and  may  be  enabled  to  at- 
tend the  Convention. 

That  the  speakers,  in  preparing  their  addresses,  may  know 
the  mind  of  the  Spirit,  so  that  in  very  truth  and  with  evi- 
dent power  they  may  declare  to  the  Church  the  will  of  God 
concerning  present-day  opportunities  for  advanced  mission 
effort. 

That  in  fixing  Convention  details  the  local  and  general 
committees  may  seek  and  find  divine  guidance. 

That  in  every  session  of  the  Convention,  whoever  may  be 
the  speakers  or  the  presiding  officer,  the  presence  of  the 
great  Master  of  Assemblies  may  be  realized. 

That  through  the  returning  delegates  the  Convention  may 
result  in  widesprea:d  conviction  and  determined  effort  on  the 
part  of  the  whole  Church  with  reference  to  the  fulfillment  of 
our  Lord's  last  command. 

*♦  l^elpinff  toffeti)er  .•.&?>  pour  Bupplication/' 


APPENDIX 


389 


A  CARD  HANDED  TO  EACH  DELEGATE  ON  HIS  ARRIVAL 

AT  CLEVELAND 


31  Praptr  Cart  for  t()c  «6c  of  ^Drlcjatcfi  tiurintj  t()c 
JFirfit  (Scncral  iHtsfiionarp  Contirntton  of  t|)c  iHctl)-- 
oUi0t  Cptficopal  Cl)arcl)>  ClrtflanU,  (B\)io,  ©ctobcr 
21  to  24,  1902. 

45bjcctj*  for  Jntetccj^ision. 

For  a  pervasive  and  constant  spirit  of  prayer  among  dele- 
gates.    "Pray  without  ceasing."     i  Thess.  v,  17. 

For  a  realization  by  speakers,  committees,  and  delegates 
of  the  power  of  God.  "  Is  there  anything  too  hard  for  me  ?" 
Jer.  xxxii,  27. 

For  the  evident  presence  and  leadership  of  Jesus  Christ  in 
all  sessions.     "  There  am  I  in  the  midst."     Matt,  xviii,  20. 

For  a  stronger  faith  and  a  clearer  realization  of  our  re- 
sources in  Christ.  "  All  power  is  given  unto  me.  .  .  .  Lo, 
I  am  with  you."     Matt,  xxviii,  18. 

For  a  manifestation  of  the  unity  of  the  Spirit  throughout 
the  gathering.     "That  they  may  be  one."     John  xvii,  22. 

For  a  larger  vision  of  world  need.  "  Lift  up  your  eyes- 
and  look  on  the  fields."     John  iv,  35. 

For  a  self-sacrificing  readiness  to  face  the  issues  of  the 
Convention.    "  Even  Christ  pleased  not  himself."    Rom.  xv,  3. 

For  the  churches  of  Cleveland  and  vicinity,  that  they  may 
experience  a  great  spiritual  uplift  as  a  reflex  result  of  the  Con- 
vention. "  There  is  that  scattereth,  and  yet  increaseth." 
Prov.  xi,  24. 

For  an  adequate  proclamation  of  the  Convention's  message 
throughout  the  whole  Church.  "As  every  man  hath  received 
the  gift,  even  so  minister  the  same  one  to  another,  as  good 
stewards  of  the  manifold  grace  of  God."     1  Pet.  iv,  10. 

For  a  missionary  awakening  in  our  Church,  that  the  urgent 
needs  of  the  fields  for  men  and  means  may  be  met.  "  Pray 
ye  therefore  the  Lord  of  the  harvest,  that  he  would  send  forth 
laborers  into  his  harvest."     Luke  x,  2. 

For  all  missionaries  and  native  Christians,  that  upon  them 
the  Holy  Spirit  may  come  in  abundant  measure.  "  Ye  shall 
receive  power,  after  that  the  Holy  Ghost  is  come  upon  you  ; 
and  ye  shall  be  witnesses  .  .  .  unto  the  uttermost  part  of  the 
earth."     Acts  i,  18. 


390  THE   CLEVELAND   MISSIONARY    CONVENTION 


A  CARD  HANDED  TO  EACH  DELEGATE  ON  HIS  ARRIVAL 
AT  CLEVELAND 


|)oto  map  ^  ffet  tj)c  moeit  out  of  t^t 
(JLIcljcIanU  Contiention  7 

By  making  daily  use  of  the  Convention  prayer  cycle  and  by 
unceasing  prayer  durkig  the  sessions; 

By  watching  for  the  3esi  things  in  all  sessions,  thereby 
avoiding  a  spirit  of  unkind  criticism. 

By  restraining  idle  curiosity  as  to  speakers  and  addresses. 

By  conversing  sparingly  on  social  matters,  thus  redeeming 
the  time. 

By  seeking  in  the  Spirit  of  Christ  to  adjust  myself  to  all 
Convention  plans  and  arrangements,  and  by  overlooking 
those  annoyances  which  are  incidental  to  such  a  gathering. 

By  so  ordering  my  life  during  these  Convention  days  that 
in  all  things  Christ  may  have  the  preeminence. 

By  personal  appropriation  and  application  of  truth  to  my- 
self and  work,  thus  seeking  to  understand  and  to  obey  the 
will  of  God  concerning  my  own  life. 

By  recording  for  permanent  use  those  ideas  and  plans 
which  most  pertain  to  the  work  which  I  represent  at  the 
Convention. 

By  preferring  another  in  honor,  thus  escaping  the  easily 
besetting  sins  of  pride  and  jealousy. 

By  looking  to  God  rather  than  to  any  man,  remembering 
that  it  is  "  not  by  might,  nor  by  an  army,  but  by  my  spirit, 
saith  the  Lord  of  hosts." 

"  He  that  spared  not  his  own  Son,  but  delivered  him  up 
for  us  all,  how  shall  he  not  also  with  him  freely  give  us  all 
things?"     Rom.  viii,  32. 


APPENDIX 


391 


A   CARD   HANDED   TO    EACH   DELEGATE   ON  THE   LAST 
DAY   OF   THE   CONVENTION 


|)oto  map  3^  Oec  tl)c  LcBBong  of  tl)iE(  ConDtntion? 

*'7V»^  end 0/ the  Exploration  is  the  beginning  0/ the  Enterprise." 

In  that  God  has,  in  such  a  marked  way,  answered  the  prayers  which 
were  indicated  on  the  Prayer  Card  used  in  preparation  for  the  Conven- 
tion, asking  for  his  guidance  and  blessing  in  the  selection  of  delegates, 
the  preparation  of  speakers,  the  arrangement  of  Convention  details,  and 
for  the  presence  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  every  session  of  the  Convention. 

■25^  fntcrcCjSiiJon 

Pray  that  each  delegate  may  be  true  to  the  resolutions  which  he  has 
formed  during  this  Convention,  and  that  he  may  earnestly  devote  himself 
and  all  his  resources  to  the  work  of  world  evangelization. 

Pray  that  each  delegate  may  be  led  in  triumph  over  the  temptations 
and  perils  which  so  easily  beset  one  in  going  from  a  Convention  like  this. 

Pray  that  disobedience,  selfishness,  indolence,  and  unbelief  may  be  far 
removed  from  us. 

Pray  that  the  General  Missionary  Committee,  at  its  meeting  in  Albany, 
November  12  to  18,  may  be  divinely  guided  in  devising  far-reaching 
plans  for  the  organization  of  the  forces  which  have  been  made  available 
through  this  Convention. 

Pray  that  the  enlarged  vision  brought  before  us  during  this  Convention 
may  be  realized,  even  beyond  all  that  we  ask  or  think. 

Pray  that  a  sufficient  number  of  properly  qualified  candidates  may  be 
forthcoming  to  meet  the  urgent  needs  of  our  different  mission  fields. 

Pray  for  the  missionaries  and  native  workers,  that  God  may  be  with 
them  and  may  demonstrate  through  them  his  marvelous  power. 

"255  lIcBolution 

With  the  help  of  God  I  will  unceasingly  watch  and  pray  that  I  quench 
not  the  Spirit.  To  this  end  I  will  study  the  Bible  with  renewed  energy  ; 
I  will  give  myself  to  prayer  ;  I  will  engage  with  increased  activity  in 
the  work  of  w-inning  others  to  Jesus  Christ. 

As  a  good  steward  I  will  seek  to  administer  the  gift  which  has  come 
to  me  through  this  Convention,  and  I  will  do  all  in  my  power  to  arouse 
the  Church  to  its  world-wide  opportunity,  through  meetings  where  the 
Convention  will  be  reported,  through  District.  Conference.  State,  and 
other  denominational  papers  and  through  the  local  press  ;  through  per- 
sonal interviews,  designed  to  communicate  to  others  the  spirit  of  the 
Convention;  through  a  fellowship  with  some  missionary  acquaintance; 
through  a  daily  life,  conforming  to  the  high  Christian  standard  set  be- 
fore me  during  these  days. 

"7Vt«  is  the  Lord's  doing,  and  it  is  marvelous  in  our  eyes."     Matt,  xxi,  41. 


INDEX 


INDEX 


Addicks,  G.  B.,  address  on  "Our  Foreign 
Populations  and  How  to  Reach  Them," 
14, 112-120:  Foreign  peoples  in  the  United 
States,  here  chiefly  to  stay,  112;  their 
wrong  views  of  our  government,  112; 
prepared  for  vital  Christianity,  112,  113; 
to  be  won  by  a  direct,  soul-converting 
Gospel,  113-116  ;  best  evangelized  by  use 
of  their  own  tongue,  116;  personal  con- 
tact, 116,  117  ;  encouraging  results,  119,120. 

Africa,  The  Open  Door  in,  163-181.  For 
analysis  see  Hartzell,  J.  C.  Statistics, 
31 ;  needs  of,  32,  33  ;  first  foreign  mission 
work  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
in,  42,  47. 

African  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  37. 

Alaska,  Hawaii,  and  Porto  Rico,  354-356- 
For  analysis  see  Woodruff,  Mrs.  il.  L. 

Alaska,  work  of  Woman's  Home  Mission- 
ary Society  in,  354,  355. 

American  Bible  Society,  relation  to  flleth- 
odist  missions,  38  ;  volumes  issued  in 
1901,  6q  ;  number  of  Bibles  sent  to  foreign 
lands,  70. 

American  Board  of  Commissioners  for 
Foreign  Missions,  319. 

American  soldiers  in  the  Philippines,  their 
faults  and  their  work,  137,  138. 

Andrews,  Bishop  E.  G.,  address  on  "The 
Purpose  of  the  Convention,"  13,21-28: 
Delegates  welcomed,  21  ;  the  aim  to 
bring  light  and  inspiration,  22  ;  review 
of  missionary  advance  in  the  nineteenth 
century,  23  ;  the  new  century's  present 
outlook,  24 ;  tasks  that  remain,  25  ;  a 
fresh  vision  and  a  deeper  devotion  must 
come,  26  ;  the  mind  of  Christ,  27  ;  a  faith 
that  dares,  28.  Chairman  of  Program 
Committee,  5  ;  presiding  officer,  13  ;  pro- 
nounced farewell  benediction,  20. 

Anglo-Saxon,  Gospel  not  alone  for,  115; 
Methodism's  service  to,  134;  reason  for 
race  superiority  of,  154  ;  sphere  of  in 
Africa,  165  ;  Christianity's  effect  upon, 
196-198. 

Angola,  outlook  and  needs  of  mission  in, 

175,  176. 
Appeal  from  China,  316.    See  Chen  Wei 

Cheng. 
Arabia,  part  of  Southern  Asia,  181. 
Argentina,  its  capacity  to  produce  wheat, 
151  ;  Italian  emigration  to,  151 ;  Ameri- 
can agricultural  implements  in,  151; 
Protestant  secretary  of,  151,  152  ;  perse- 
cution  passing   in,    152 ;   superstitions, 

1521  '53- 
Association  quartet,  10,  14-20. 
Australia  has  become  a  Protestant  island 

continent,  136. 


Baldwin,  S.  L.,  recording  secretary,  53. 

Bangs,  Nathan,  founder  of  the  Missionary 
Society,  38,  30,  42-.J6,  52. 

Baptist  Churcn,  missionary  gifts  of  per 
member,  232. 

Baptist  Young  People's  Union,  261. 

Bash,  Appleton,  Section  Conference  dis- 
cussion, 365-367. 

Bashford,  J.  W.,  address  on  "It  Tendeth 
to  Poverty,"  16,  213-223  :  Systematic  and 
proportional  giving  the  right  Christian 
and  scriptural  principle,  214  ;  analogy  of 
one  seventh  of  time  and  one  tenth  of  in- 
come, 214,  215,  219;  not  too  mechanical, 
215  ;  the  Sabbath  an  infinite  gain  to  civ- 
ilization, 215  ;  ratio  should  not  be  below 
one  tenth,  216 ;  the  Old  Testament  stand- 
ard, 216;  Christ's  approval,  217;  objec- 
tions met,  217,  2i8 ;  possible  in  our 
Church,  218;  its  results  religiously  and 
financially,  219-223  ;  giving  does  not  im- 
poverish, 222.  Participant  in  program, 
17,  18,  19. 

"Belovea,  if  God  So  Loved  Us,"  281-287. 
For  analysis  see  McDowell,  W.  F. 

Berry,  J.  F.,  participant  in  program,  20. 

Bible,  languages  in  which  printed,  23,  34  ; 
Syriac  rendering,  59 ;  open  door  for 
in  the  Philippines  and  India,  75-77;  re- 
lation of  to  missions,  94-100;  the  whole 
to  be  preached,  114;  free  in  Philippines, 
141 ;  class  taught  bv  fisherman,  143  ;  be- 
ing circulated  in  Bolivia,  154  ;  cause  of 
Anglo-Saxon  superiority,  154  ;  imprison- 
ment for  selling  in  Philippines,  186  ;  doc- 
trine of  tithingin,  216.  217,  251-254,  304,  305; 
records  supernatural  power,  256-^58. 

Bible  Society,  American,  referred  to,  38, 
69,  70;  estimate  of  its  value,  142. 

Bible  Society,  British,  little  girl  inspired 
organization  of,  309. 

Bishop,  Mrs.  Isabella  Bird,  tells  of  Christ- 
less  homes,  199. 

Bishops,  referred  to,  295  ;  estimate  of  num- 
ber of  new  missionaries  needed,  320. 

Board  of  Education,  its  great  service  to 
the  missionary  cau.se,  70. 

Board  of  Managers  of  Missionary  Society, 

21. 

Bohemians,  Gospel  work  for,  115,  120. 

Bolivia,  a  Bible- worker  in,  154. 

Book  Concern,  its  missionary  value,  70. 

Borneo,  its  easy  access  from  Manila,  139; 
most  promising  people  still  unreached, 
139  ;  sparse  population  and  head  hunting 
in,  187;  Dr.  Luering's  work  in,  187;  Chi- 
nese from  Foochow  forming  a  colony 
in,  188. 

Bowen,  George,  referred  to,  333. 


396 


INDEX 


Bowen,  J.  W.  E.,  address  on  "  The  Negro 
a  Missionary  Investment,  a  Missionary 
Investor,"  14,  loo-m:  Results  of  mission- 
ary work  for  the  megro,  has  it  paid  ?  100 ; 
to  be  judged  by  his  origin  and  past,  100- 
103 ;  financial  investment  by  Church  so- 
cieties, 103  ;  faith  manifested,  103  ;  negro 
Church  communicants,  104 ;  spiritual 
development,  104-106 ;  his  financial  re- 
sponse, 106-108 ;  as  seen  in  our  Church 
when  compared  with  the  largest  negro 
Church  bodies,  108-111 ;  redeemed  char- 
acters and  consecrated  leaders,  m. 

Brahmanism,  early,  a  missionary  re- 
ligion, 182. 

Brazil,  its  immense  area,  148. 

Brown,  John,  referred  to,  328. 

Buckley,  J.  M.,  address  on  "  Metho- 
dist Missions  of  the  Nineteenth  Cen- 
tury," 13,  35-54:  Methodism  a  part  of  a 
larger  Christianity,  35 ;  beginnings  of 
our  propagandism,  36  ;  mission  work  of 
other  Methodist  bodies,  37 ;  formation 
of  our  Missionary  Society,  38  ;  early  ef- 
forts and  first  report,  39 ;  growth  and 
notable  anniversaries,  40,  41 ;  foreign 
missions  begun,  42,  43  ;  the  several  fields 
added  by  a  genetic  development,  44-50  ; 
the  women's  societies  and  deaconesses, 
51 ;  a  century's  results  from  united  ef- 
forts of  many,  52-54 ;  the  line  of  secre- 
taries, 53,  54.     Report  on  resolutions,  18. 

Buddhism,  its  missionary  expansion,  182  ; 
referred  to,  270,  307,  326. 

Bulgaria,  statistics,  31 ;  needs  of,  31  •,  why 
entered,  49. 

Burma,  part  of  Southern  Asia,  181. 

Butler,  William,  founder  of  missions  in 
India  and  Mexico,  54 ;  referred  to,  182, 
195,  281. 

Butler,  Mrs.  William,  an  organizer  of 
Woman's  Foreign  Missionary  So- 
ciety, 51. 

Buttz,  H.  A.,  participant  in  program,  14. 


Calvin,  John,  his  work  in  Geneva,  127. 

Cambridge  University,  320. 

Campaign  of  missionary  education,  essen- 
tial to  final  success,  266 ;  must  be  thor- 
oughgoing and  extensive,  317. 

Canada,  early  mission  work  in,  41 ;  mis- 
sions of  "  Methodist  Church  in  Canada," 

37i  38. 

Canteen,  army,  its  infamy,  139. 

Carey,  William,  referred  to,  24,  195,  281. 

Carroll,  H.  K.,  address  on  "  Home  Allies 
in  Our  Work  of  Evangelization,"  14,  64- 
70 :  World  evangelization  a  strenuous 
campaign,  64,  65 ;  Woman's  Foreign 
Missionary  Society,  65,  66 ;  Woman's 
Home  Missionary  Society,  65,  66;  Board 
of  Church  Extension,  67;  Freedmen's 
Aid  and  Southern  Education  Society, 
67,  68;  City  Missions,  68,  69;  Sunday 
School  Union,  69  ;  American  Bible  Soci. 
ety,  69,  70;  Board  of  Education,  70; 
Book  Concern,  70 ;  Young  Men's  Chris- 
tian Association,  70  ;  members  of  the 
Church,  70.  Member  of  Program  Com- 
mittee, 5  ;  missionary  secretary,  54. 

Chadwick,  J.  S.,  Section  Conference  dis- 
cussion, 364. 

Chalmers,  a  pioneer  in  city  evangeliza- 
tion, 134. 

Chen  Wei  Cheng,  address  on  "An  Appeal 
from  China,"  18,  316 :  Gratitude  for 
privileges  of  education,  316 ;  students 
who  have  given  up  life  for  their  faith, 


316;  speaker's  family  among  the  mar- 
tyrs, 316 ;  appeal  for  men  and  women 
ready  to  trust  God  and  go  forward,  316. 
From  a  family  of  martyrs,  313  ;  graduate 
and  teacher  in  Peking  University,  315 ; 
foreign  delegate,  315. 

Chicago  and  New  York,  and  population 
of  the  United  States  in  1800,  124. 

Chile,  church  building  in  place  of  tent, 
150 ;  Fowler  and  Grant  schools,  150,  151 ; 
congregation  in  Valparaiso,  151. 

China,  statistics,  31  ;  needs  of,  32,  33 ;  be- 
ginning of  mission  work  in,  43,  46,  47  ; 
the  world's  great  mission  field,  77  ;  its 
antiquity,  78,  79  ;  shock  of  the  Peking 
tragedy,  79  ;  signs  of  lostness,  79 ;  con- 
ceit and  ignorance,  79-81  ;  moral  corrup- 

•  tion,  81-83  ;  irritated  by  Romanism  and 
the  Powers,  82-84  ;  reform  efforts,  85,  86 ; 
Satanic  manifestations,  86,  88  ;  Boxer  and 
imperial  movements  and  the  reaction, 
89,  90 ;  the  Christian  sacrifice,  90-93 ; 
China's  new  day,  93 ;  dominion  over 
Korea  and  more  remotely  over  Japan, 
155  ;  her  three  inventions  of  the  mari- 
ner's compass,  gunpowder,  and  print- 
ing, 156;  Japanese  victory  opened  the 
last  gateway  to,  156,  157;  the  Boxer  up- 
heaval resulted  in  an  open  door  to  every 
part  of,  158  ;  opium  in,  269  ;  gambling  in, 
269 ;  impurity  in,  270 ;  North,  first  con- 
vert in,  313. 

Chinese,  outside  their  land,  115,  125  ;  in- 
teraction, 132. 

Christ,  Our  Living  Leader,  321-334.  For 
analysis  see  Speer,  R.  E.  Swing  of 
world's  thought  toward,  133;  his  pur- 
pose of  world  dominion,  190,  191 ;  the 
perfect  model  of  missionary  love,  243 ; 
the  ultimate  motive  in  missions,  286 ; 
New  Testament  words  applied  to,  326, 
327- 

Christian  Advocate,  a  channel  of  mission- 
ary information,  227  ;  referred  to,  47. 

Chri.stian  Endeavor,  United  Society  of, 
260-264. 

Christian  stewardship  enrollment,  225. 

Christianity  causing  great  changes  in 
India,  196' 

Church  Extension  Society,  67. 

Church  Missionary  Society,  297,  298. 

Cities,  the  six  largest  of  the  United  States, 
122,  123;  larger  cities  of  Ohio,  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  New  York,  123 ;  increase  of 
cities,  123,  124 ;  character  of  population, 

125- 

City  Evangelization  Union,  68. 

City  Problem,  121-134.  For  analysis  see 
North,  F.  M. 

Civilization,  non-Christian  is  without  up- 
lifting power,  311,  312. 

Cleveland,  O.,  mvites  the  Convention,  6. 

Closing  Address,  334-337.  For  analysis 
see  Thoburn,  J.  M. 

Coit,  O.  B.,  Section  Conference  discussion, 
361. 

Colton,  E.  T.,  participant  in  program,  18. 

Confucianism,  326. 

Congo  Free  State,  164. 

Convention,  Cleveland  Missionary, 
planned,  4 ;  Program  Committee,  5 ; 
prayer  for,  6,  7  ;  sessions,  8  ;  special  fea- 
tures, 8-1 1 ;  music  of,  9;  financial  session, 
10  ;  officers  and  societies  represented,  10 ; 
educational  exhibit,  11 ;  results  of,  11, 12  ; 
program  of,  13-20;  purpose  of,  21-28; 
handbook  of,  36 ;  responsibility  of  dele- 
gates to,  316-321. 

Conversation,  missionary,  229. 

Conversion,  wins  foreigners  in  America 


INDEX 


397 


for    reforms,   114 ;    genuineness   of    in 

India,  208,  209. 

Cooper,  W.  \V.,  address  on  "What  the  Sun- 
day School  Superintendent  Can  iJo," 
16, 244-249:  Can  greatly  advance  missions 
by  a  high  aim  and  organization,  244  ; 
missionary  meetings  and  libraries,  244, 
245  ;  charts  and  birthday  offerings,  245, 
246 ;  class  and  teacher,  246,  247  ;  support 
of  native  scholar^  or  workers,  247,  248  ; 
inspiration  of  self-devotion  to  missions, 
248,  249.  Presiding  officer  at  Section 
Conference,  17  ;  referred  to,  263. 

Cox,  Melville  B.,  foreign  missionary  to 
Liberia,  42 ;  dying  words  of,  174 ;  referred 
to,  24,  193,  2S1. 

Cromwell,  Oliver,  trained  men  for  great 
tasks,  134  ;  referred  to,  327. 

Crouch,  J.  F.,  participant  in  program,  16. 

Cuba,  relation  to  our  international  in- 
terests, 73. 

D 

Daniels,  C.  H.,  participant  in  program,  13. 
Danish  people  reached  bj-  Gospel  truth, 

115,  120. 

Dasniell,  R.  L.,  missionary  secretary,  53. 

Day,  J.  R.,  participant  in  program,  15. 

Deaconess,  The,  as  a  Missionarj-  Force, 
233-237.     For  analysis  see  Oldham,  W.  F. 

Deaconess  work,  51,  52. 

Democracy  on  trial  in  our  American 
cities,  127. 

Dennis,  J.  S.,  referred  to,  23. 

Disosway,  G.  P.,  suggested  organization 
of  Missionarv  Society,  38. 

District  Missionary  Secretary,  What  He 
Can  Do  for  Missions,  233-237.  For  analy- 
sis see  Oldham,  W.  F.  Ideas  on  district 
missionary  development,  359-362. 

Doney,  C.  G.,  Section  Conference  discus- 
sion, 373>  374- 

Drees,  C.  W.,  participant  m  program,  14  ; 
referred  to,  320. 

Durbin,  j.  P.,  missionary  secretary, 41,  45, 
52-54,  203. 

E 

Eastern  Asia,  The  Open  Door  in,  155-163. 
For  analysis  see  Moore,  Bishop  D.  H. 

Ecuador,  progress  in  education  and  re- 
ligious liberty,  148,  149. 

Ecumenical  Missionary  Conference,  New 
York,  4  ;  map  of  the  world  for,  8. 

Eddy,  T.  M.,  missionary  secretary,  53. 

Education  a:id  Training  of  Young  People 
in  Scriptural  Habits  of  Giving,  301-311. 
For  analysis  see  Locke,  C.  E. 

Emergency,  The,  29-34.  For  analysis  see 
Leonard,  A.  B. 

Epworth  Herald  should  be  in  homes  of 
all  office-bearers,  227. 

Epworth  League  president,  presiding  eld- 
ers' touch  with,  225. 

European  wars  in  Africa,  end  of,  164. 


Fakirs  of  India,  207. 

Famine  in  India,  government  officers  dis- 
tributed corn  through  Bishop  Thobtirn, 
211. 

Field  secretaries,  election  of,  4. 

Financial  session.  10,  278,  270. 

Finland,  statistics,  31 ;  needs  of,  32. 

Finlanders,  successful  efforts  for,  120. 

Fisk,  Mrs.  C.  B.,  participant  in  program, 
19. 

FitzGerald,  Bishop  J.  N.,  recording  secre- 
tary, 53. 


Fliedner,  his  influence  through  the  dea- 
conesses, 131. 

Foreign  missions,  membership  in,  31; 
emergency  in,  31-33, 

Foss,  Bishop  C.  D.,  address  on  "What 
'Retrenchment'  Means,"  15,201-213  :  Cut- 
ting down  missionary  appropriations, 
201 ;  great  truths  revitalized,  201 ;  broth- 
erhood in  missions,  202  ;  cut  in  appropri- 
ations a  pain  to  General  Missionary 
Committee,  203  ;  disastrous  effects  in  the 
field,  204-206 ;  scenes  of  heathenism  in 
India,  2oi5,  207,  and  of  natural  grandeur, 
207,  ao8  ;  also  of  religious  glory,  208,  209  ; 
unparalleled  progress  and  results,  209, 
210;  Hasan  Rasa  Kahn's  great  success, 
210,  211 ;  retrenchment  means  laying  off 
workers  and  limiting  the  work,  211; 
Methodism  ought  to  march  to  a  supreme 
conquest,  212,  213.  Participant  in  pm- 
gram,  13,  19. 

Foss,  Mrs.  C.  D.,  participant  in  pro- 
gram, 19. 

Foster,  Bishop  R.  S.,  referred  to,  1S3. 

Fowler,  Bishop  C.  H.,  address  on  "  Our 
Opportunity,"  14,  71-94:  Opportunity  is 
power,  71 ;  analogies  in  history,  71,  72  ; 
pointings  of  Providence,  72,  73  ;  the  Phil- 
ippines a  national  opportunity,  73-75 ; 
the  call  of  our  new  possessions,  ^5,  76 ; 
masses  and  needs  or  India  and  China, 
76-89;  Chinese  disturbances,  signs  of 
great  change,  89,  90;  pathos  and  influ- 
ence of  martyrdom,  90-93  ;  appeal  to  the 
Church,  04.    Jlissionary  secretary,  53. 

Freedmen  s  Aid  Society,  close  relation  to 
mission  work,  51,  68. 

French  in  America  and  Europe,  and  Gos- 
pel work  for,  45,  115,  leo. 

Frere,  Sir  Bartle,  testimony  to  the  effect 
of  Christianity,  196. 

Friars,  their  abuse  of  power,  75,  76 ;  hatred 
of  Filipinos  for,  75,  76;  their  immo- 
rality, 138, 140, 143  ;  withdrawal  of  142, 143. 

Froebel,  his  gift  of  the  kindergarten,  131. 


(iambling,  national  evil  in  China,  :-6q. 

Gamewell,  F.  D.,  address  on  "What 
Money  Aleans  for  Educational  Work  in 
the  Foreign  Fields,"  18,  311-315  :  A  means 
to  an  end,  311  ;  civilization  alone  cannot 
uplift,  311,  312  ;  the  aim  is  Christian  edu- 
cation and  civilization,  312  ;  money  to 
maintain  schools  and  mission  work,  312  : 
native  ministry  and  the  Chinese  roll  of 
martyrs,  312-314 ;  what  moderate  sums 
as  viewed  at  home  would  do  abroad,  314, 
jis;Chen  Wei  Cheng  illustrates  the 
benefits  of  our  school  work,  315.  Pre- 
siding officer  at  Section  Conference,  17  ; 
referred  to,  3,  161. 

Ganges,  providential  leadings  across  it, 
183  ;  bathing  in,  206. 

General  Missionary  Committee,  3,4,31,203. 

George.  Henry,  re'ferred  to,  282. 

German  Methodists,  gifts  of  to  missions, 
232. 

German  missions  in  America,  45,  46. 

Germans  in  America,  their  evangeliza- 
tion, 116,  119,  120,  132. 

Germanv  and  Switzerland,  needs  of.  31  ; 
origin  of  missions  to,  49,  50 ;  referred  to, 

Giving,  Education  and  Training  of 
Young  People  in,  301-311.  For  analysis 
see  Locke,  C.  K.  Systematic  and  propor- 
tional, 213-323.  For  analysis  se*  Bash- 
ford,  J.  W. 


398 


INDEX 


Gobin,   H.   A.,   participant    in    program, 

IS- 

Goucher,  J.  F.,  address,  "Introduction 
to  Financial  Session,"  i8,  278-280:  The 
cooperation  and  prayer  of  all  required, 
278;  sympathy  and  emotion  must  issue 
in  high  resolve  and  action,  278,  279;  the 
increase  in  collections  will  restore  the 
cut,  279;  the  Convention  should  pledge 
at  least  a  quarter  million  advance,  279, 
280.  Member  of  Program  Committee, 
5  ;  referred  to,  3,  262. 

Gracey,  Mrs.  J.  T.,  address  on  "The  Wom- 
an's Foreign  Missionary  Society,  Its 
Equipment  and  Outlook,"  19,  338-345 : 
Record  of  thirty-three  years,  338  ;  pres- 
ent equipment  and  fields,  338,  343-345; 
organization  and  gifts,  339,  340,  342 ; 
literature  and  united  mission  study, 
340-342. 

Gray,  D.  S.,  Section  Conference  discus- 
sion, 380. 

Great  Britain,  flag  of  stands  for  justice 
and  a  free  field  for  missions,  166  ;  gives 
the  African  natives  a  fair  chance,  168. 

Greeks,  their  Gospel  needs  in  America, 
IIS- 

Guam,  station  on  our  Pacific  path  of  ex- 
pansion, 136. 

Gujarat,  strange  impression  regarding, 
184,  185. 

H 

Hall,  L.  M.,  Section  Conference  discus- 
sion, 379. 

Hamilton,  Bishop  J.  W.,  address  by,  19. 
Dedicates  church  at  Pachuca,  Mexico, 
147- 

Handley,  John,  Section  Conference  dis- 
cussion, 365. 

Hannington,  Bishop  James,  281. 

Harris,  Bishop  W.  L.,  missionary  secre- 
tary, 53. 

Hartzell,  Bishop  J.  C,  address  on  "The 
Open  Door  in  Africa,"  15,  163-181  :  The 
last  continent  to  be  opened  to  theGospel, 
163  ;  now  mapped  and  known,  163  ;  mar- 
velous rapidity  of  development,  163, 164  ; 
Livingstone's  explorations,  164;  partition 
of  the  continent  among  European  pow- 
ers, 164,  165 ;  all  the  vast  territory  now 
open  to  Christian  forces,  165 ;  popula- 
tion comparatively  small,  165  ;  control 
in  the  hands  of  the  few  white  people, 
166  ;  civilization  and  justice,  166 ;  coming 
growth  of  the  black  race  in  numbers, 
167 ;  the  serious  problem  of  the  right 
training  and  true  sphere  of  life  for  the 
native  races,  167  ;  English  rule,  168,  169 ; 
service  of  the  United  States  through 
commerce,  moral  influence,  and  Ameri- 
can negro  education,  169,  170;  the  white 
manof  America  must  cooperate,  170;  re- 
sponses of  the  negro  to  the  evangel  of 
hope,  170,  171  ;  all  causes  but  missions 
have  what  they  need,  172  ;  the  massive 
task  almost  untouched,  172 ;  needs  of 
Methodist  work,  173  ;  signs  of  promise 
and  open  doors  in  Liberia,  173-175  ;  An- 
gola and  Madeira  Islands,  175-177  ;  East 
African  missions,  177-180  ;  knowledge  of 
and  love  for  the  field,  180, 181.  Referred 
to,  258. 

Haven,  Bishop  Gilbert,  51. 

Haven,  W.  I.,  address  on  "The  Words  Are 
Spirit  and  Life,"  14,  94-100:  The  Bible, 
the  word  of  God,  94,  95  ;  its  relation  to 
Christian  missions  and  to  all  mankind, 
95 ;  it  inspires  to  missionary  consecra- 
tion, 95,  96 ;  it  leads  to  conversion,  96, 97 ; 


it  is  the  strength  and  fire  of  missionary 
effort,  98-100.     Referred  to,  263. 

Hawaii,  opportunity  among  Japanese 
laborers  in,  135;  needs  of  American 
people  in,  135  ;  a  stepping-stone  to  Asia, 
136  ;  its  women  and  also  Japanese  women 
in  the  islands  being  reached  by  the 
Woman's  Home  Missionary  Society,  355. 

Heathenism,  strength  and  increase 'of  as 
to  numbers,  64 ;  evil  forces  working  in, 
269. 

Hedstrom,  Olof  G.,  referred  to,  132. 

Himalaya  Mountains,  207. 

Hitchcock,  Horace,  Section  Conference 
discussion,  378. 

Hohanshelt,  W.  G.,  Section  Conference 
discussion,  360. 

Holmes,  W.  H.,  Section  Conference  dis- 
cussion, 359. 

Holy  Spirit,  his  presence  needed,  56,  59, 
61-63;  prayers  for  in  the  Philippine 
work,  144 ;  transforming  power  of  in 
India,  209,  213  ;  answer  of  to  the  hour, 
213 ;  presence  of  with  the  presiding 
elder,  223  ;  given  to  those  who  obey,  276 ; 
prepares  the  heart  to  understand  Bible 
teaching,  303 ;  Christ  exercises  leader- 
ship through,  332  ;  and  is  made  known 

by.  335- 

Home  Allies  in  Our  Work  of  Evangeliza- 
tion, 64-70.  For  analysis  see  Carroll, 
H.  K. 

Home  Church,  Reasons  W^hy  It  Must 
Go  Forward,  18,  268-278.  For  analysis 
see  Mott,  J.  R. 

Home  missions,  conferences  and  lan- 
guages, 30 ;  formed  first  held  of  work, 
39-50;  present  missionaries  and  expend- 
itures for,  66. 

Humphrey,  J.  L.,  participant  in  program, 

I 

Impurity,  269,  270. 

India,  thought  turned  to,  48  ;  present  pop- 
ulation, 64 ;  the  empire's  great  appeal, 
76,  77;  under  Protestant  rule,  136;  na- 
tives feel  the  influence  of  American 
control  in  Philippines,  139;  overflow  to 
Africa,  166  ;  the  great  central  portion  of 
the  Southern  Asia  mission  field,  181;  a 
mother  of  religions,  181,  182  ;  marvelous 
possibilities  in.  1S9 ;  figures  showing 
gains  in  eleven  years,  208  ;  camp  meeting 
in,  209 ;  immorality  in  its  religions  and 
life,  270. 

Indians,  American,  missions  to,  30,  37-46. 

Industrial  Training  of  Girls  in  Southern 
Schools,  348-353.  For  analysis  see  Thir- 
kield,  Mrs.  W.  P. 

Ingram,  J.  E.,  participant  in  program,  19. 

Inhambane,  southeastern  African  field, 
177,  178. 

Intemperance,  269. 

International  Student  Missionary  Confer- 
ence, London,  4. 

Iowa  plan,  great  merits  of,  235,  236. 

"It  Tendeth  to  Poverty,"  213-223.  For 
analysis  see  Bashford,  J.  W. 

Italians,  in  America,  115, 119  ;  reached  here 
and  in  Europe,  120, 132  ;  numbers  in  New 
York,  125  ;  resources  needed  for,  129,  130. 

Italy,  statistics,  31 ;  needs  of,  31,  33. 


Jacoby,  Ludwig  S.,  referred  to,  35,  132. 
Japan,  statistics,  31  ;  needs  of,  32,  33 ;  a 

favorable  field,  48  ;  reflex  influence  upon, 

132  ;  impurity  in,  270. 
Java,  187. 


INDEX 


399 


Jesuitism  a  conspiracy  against  civil  and 
religious  liberty,  176. 

Jews,  to  be  savingly  reached,  115;  num- 
bers in  New  York,  125. 

John,  the  apostle,  281,  322. 

Johnson,  J.  A.,  Section  Conference  discus- 
sion, 372. 

Johnston,  Hugh,  participant  in  program, 
15  ;  Section  Conference  discussion,  375, 
376. 

Judson,  Adoniram,  referred  to,  24,  195. 


Kahn,  Hasan  Rasa,  referred  to,  210. 

Kidd,  Benjamin,  referred  to,  330,  331. 

Kingsley,  Bishop  Calvin,  referred  to,  54. 

Kinnaird,  Lord,  208. 

Knox,  his  devotion  to  praver,  258. 

Korea,  statistics,  ji  ;  needs  of.  32,  33  ;  con- 
nection with  Chma  and  Japan,  48.' 

Krueger,  Paul,  his  attitude  toward  the 
negro,  168. 

1j 

Languages,  fourteen  in  our  work  in  the 
United  States,  30,  182:  twenty -eight  in 
Southern  Asia  missions,  182  ;"  on  India 
League  banners,  262. 

Larson,  John,  a  pioneer  in  Swedish  work, 
120. 

Latin  Countries,  The  Open  Door  in,  145- 
155.  For  analysis  see  McCabe,  Bishop 
C.  C. 

Latin  races,  require  Gospel  light.  115; 
presence  in  our  cities.  125. 

Lay  workers.  Section  Conference  dis- 
cussion, 379-381 ;  resolution.  381 ;  policy 
adopted,  381. 

Leak,  T.  J.,  Section  Conference  discus- 
sion, 371,  372. 

Leonard.  A.  B.,  address  on  "The  Emer- 
gency," 13,29-34  :  Emergency  defined,  29; 
aspects  in  home  field,  30;  greatness  of 
in  foreign  field,  31-33.  Alember  of  Pro- 
gram Committee,  5;  address  by,  19; 
missionary  secretary.  53. 

Liberia,  beginnings  of  mission  work  in, 
42 ;  related  to  our  open  door  in  Africa, 
169;  new  era  dawning  for,  173-175;  our 
first  foreign  mission  in,  173 ;  mission 
founded  by  Melville  B.  Cox,  173  ;  interior 
regions  invite  our  advance.  175. 

Lincoln,  Abraham,  referred  to,  327. 

Literature,  missionary  tracts  by  Mission- 
ary Society,  234.  297. 

Livingstone,  David,  his  missionary  qual- 
ities, 24  ;  devotion  to  the  Bible,'  98  ;  in- 
spiring effect  of  his  journeys,  164 ;  ad- 
vance agent  of  a  great  movement,  igj  ; 
use  of  incidents  in  his  life,  229  ;  his  words 
concerning  Christ  as  a  foreign  mission- 
ary, 258;  the  fruit  of  his  prayers  for 
Africa,  258. 

Locke,  C.  E.,  address  on  "The  Education 
and  Training  of  Young  People  in  Scrip- 
tural Habits  of  Giving,"  18,  301-311: 
Giving  is  living,  301 ;  inspire  first  to 
acceptance  of  God's  gifts  and  consecra- 
tion, then  give  definite  instruction.  ^02, 
303;  Old  Testament  teaching  as  to  tith- 
ing, 303-305;  New  Testament  corrobora- 
tion, 305  ;  New  Testament  adds  to  tithing 
the  principle  of  giving  "as  God  hath 
prospered,"  305,  306  ;  the  scriptural 
method  would  bring  overflowing  treas- 
uries, 307,  308;  success  of  the  Church 
bound  up  in  her  youth  and  their  right 
training,  308-311 ;' suppression  of  soul- 
destroying  vices,  309,  310. 


Luce,  A.  E.,  Section  Conference  discus- 
sion, 364,  365. 

Luther,  Martin,  revitalized  the  truth  of 
salvation  by  faith  only,  201  ;  referred  to, 
2s8,  327- 

M 

Mackay,  Alexander,  referred  to,  24. 

Maclay,  R.  S.,  founder  of  Methodist  mis- 
sions in  Japan.  54. 

Madeira  Islands,  remarkable  former  work 
by  Scotch  physician.  176,  177;  Catholic 
persecution  in,  177;  progress  of  Meth- 
odist work.  176.  177;  Bishop  Hartzell's 
headouarters.  177. 

Magruder.  J.  W.,  address  on  "What  a 
Local  Church  Has  Done,"  16.  250-255; 
Declineanddeliveranceof  Wesley  Chap- 
el, Cincinnati,  250;  origin  and  results 
of  Christian  Stewards' League.  251-253; 
brings  strength  and  simplicity  into 
church  work,  253 ;  requires  plans  for 
making  its  blessings  known,  253 ;  three 
principles,  253,  254  ;  conducive  to  revival, 
255  ;  the  proof  of  the  good  of  obedience 
in  Jewish  prosperity,  255. 

Malaysia,  part  of  Southern  Asia  territory, 
181  ;  lines  of  interest,  186,  187. 

Manchuria,  its  seizure  by  Russia,  136. 

Manila,  prisoners  released  in,  75;  two 
churches  needed  in,  144. 

Manning,  Cardinal,  referred  to,  282. 

Martyn,  Henry,  referred  to,  a8i. 

Martyrs  in  China,  274,  275  ;  banners  bear- 
ing names  of,  312-314. 

McCabe,  Bishop  C.  C.,  address  on  "The 
Open  Door  in  Latin  Countries,"  15.  145- 
155 :  Throughout  the  Latin-speaking 
countries  the  doors  are  now  open,  145 ; 
formerly  closed,  145.  146;  light  in  Mexico, 
T46-148;  size  of  and  progress  in  South 
America.  148-155  ;  bright  outlook  in  Eu- 
ropean Latin  countries.  155.  Missionary 
secretary.  53.  54;  sent  first  Methodist 
missionary  to  the  Philippines.  141. 

McDowell,  W.  F.,  address  on  "Beloved,  if 
God  So  Loved  Us,"  18,  281-287 :  The 
mystic  John  here  gives  a  note  more 
than  matching  Paul,  281  ;  for  the  mis- 
sionary enterprise  high  and  sacred 
motive  alone  adequate,  281-284 ;  love 
divine  large  enough,  the  cross  powerful 
enough,  284-286;  the  Christ  is  God's 
sufficient  message  and  pledge,  286 ;  the 
result  anew  creation,  286.  287. 

McKinley.  William,  view  of  obligation  of 
the  United  States  toward  Liberia,  169. 

Medical  mission  work,  205,  343.  344. 

Medicine  and  hospitals  in  China,  160. 

Members  of  the  Church  an  essential  part 
of  the  success  of  all  missionary  endeav- 


or, 52,  54. 

If,   P.   H., 


member    of   association 


Metcalf 
quartet,  13. 

Methodist  Church  in  Canada,  mission 
work  of,  37,  38 ;  Epworth  League  of, 
260. 

Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  missions  of, 
percentage  of  gifts  to.  25,  26  ;  emergency 
in.  20-34  ;  new  buildings  needed.  26.  31  ; 
handbook  of,  36;  development  explained, 
47-50;  total  expenditure  and  workers, 
70;  able  to  meet  city  problem,  129  134  ; 
its  missionary  opportunity,  212.  213; 
estimated  income  of  members  of,  218 ; 
total  gifts  of.  218 ;  total  missionary 
offering.  232  j  average  per  member,  232  ; 
compared  with  other  Churches,  232;  its 
mines  of  wealth  to  be  enlisted  for  mis- 
sions, 239,  240  ;  resources  in  money  and 


400 


INDEX 


young  people,  271-273;  gifts  per  member, 

318,  319. 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  con- 
vention of,  3,  4,  62  ;  fraternal  representa- 
tionj  10,  II ;  missions  of,  37 ;  missionary 
institutes  in,  226  ;  districts  "  paid  out,  ' 
228  ;  Epworth  League  of,  260. 
Methodist    Missions    of    the    Nineteenth 
Century,  35-54.    For  analysis  see  Buck- 
ley, J.  M. 
Methodist  New  Connection,  37. 
Methodist  Protestant  Church,  37. 
Mexico,  statistics,  31  ;  needs  of,  3^  ;  opened 
for  missions,  49  ;  statistics  of  Methodist 
work,  146;   building  of  church  in,  147; 
school  at  Queretaro,  147,  148. 
Millard,  C.  W.,  participant  in  program,  16; 

Section  Conference  discussion,  359. 
Mission  study  classes,  235. 
Missionaries,  a  tribute  to,  54  ;  spirituality 
of,  56  ;  in  Africa,   proportion  of  to  Mo- 
hammedans and  pagans,  172  ;  returned, 
how  to  employ,  234,  235 ;  as  sources  of 
information,   298,  299 ;  estimate  of  new 
ones  now  needed,  320. 
Missionary  Campaign  Libraries,  225,  235. 
Missionary  Service,  Spiritual  Preparation 
for,  55-63.    For  analysis  see  Tuttle,  A.  H. 
Missionary  Society  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church,   origin,  first  name,   and 
scope,  38,  39 ;  early  reports  and  anniver- 
saries, 39-46 ;  work  among  negroes  in 
America,  42,  43 ;  foreign   work  begun, 
41,   42 ;    Melville    B.   Cox,    first    foreign 
missionary,    42 ;    society    incorporated, 
45  ;  is  the  Church  at  work,  65,  70 ;  atten- 
tion fi.x;ed  on  the  cities,  131. 
Mohammedanism,  270,  307,  326. 
Moore,   Bishop   D.  H.,  address  on   "The 
Open  Door  in  Eastern  Asia,"  15,  155-163  : 
The  field  embraces  Japan,  Korea,  and 
China,  155 ;  people  with  a  common  ori- 
gin, 155;  China's  isolation,  155,  156;  her 
three  inventions,  156 ;  war  with  Japan, 
156 ;    opening  of  Japan,   156,    157 ;  com- 
merce, science,  and  religion  converging 
on  China,   157 ;    her   old   position  gone 
through  her  assailing  the  Powers,  157, 
158  ;  now  everywhere  open,  158  ;  not  yet 
transformed,  159  ;  great  call  for  schools 
and  hospitals  joined  with  evangelistic 
forces,  160;  worth  of  Roman  Catholic 
Church,    despite    faults,     161 ;    coming 
reformation,  162  ;  Confucian  teachings  a 
moral  foundation,  162  ;  final  victory  to 
free  this  mighty  race,  163.    Address  by, 
19  ;  referred  to,  63. 
Moore,  E.  B.,  Section  Conference  discus- 
sion, 380. 
Moravians,  great    zeal    in   missions,  be- 
cause Bible-loving,  99. 
Mormonisra,  307. 

Morrison,  Robert,  referred  to,  24. 
Mott,  J.  R.,  address  on  "Reasons  Why 
the  Home  Church  Must  Go  Forward,'' 
18,  268-278 :  The  forward  missionary 
movement  on  the  part  of  the  home 
Church  necessary  in  view  of  the  condi- 
tion of  non-Christian  world,  268  ;  only 
so  can  the  ripe  harvest  abroad  be 
reaped,  269 ;  working  of  evil  forces,  269, 
270;  abounding  human  and  divine  re- 
sources, 271,  273 ;  laws  of  sowing  and 
reaping,  prayer  and  sacrifice,  273-275 ; 
dangers  if  urgent  call  is  not  heeded, 
2757278.  Address  on  "The  Responsi- 
bility Resting  upon  the  Delegates  to 
this  Convention,''  18,  316-321 :  The  dele- 
gates have  seen  a  blaze  of  light,  316; 
they  should  keep  themselves  informed 


of  missionary  tinfoldings,  317;  there 
must  be  a  broad  and  continuous  cam- 
paign of  education,  317 ;  help  in  financial 
advance  and  new  equipment,  318,  319; 
bring  to  the  cause  personal  sacrifice, 
appeal  and  intercession,  320,  321.  Re- 
ferred to,  3,  312. 

Mount  Holyoke,  320. 

Mulberry  Street  Church  and  the  China 
Mission,  132. 

Mysticism,  faults  of,  57,  58. 

N 

Nast,  William,  conversion  and  work,  119, 
132. 

Need  of  Missionary  Education  in  the 
Home  Church,  287-301.  For  analysis 
see  Smyth,  G.  B. 

Negro,  A  Missionary  Investment,  a  Mis- 
sionary Investor,  loo-m.  For  analysis 
see  Bowen,  J.  W.  E. 

Negro  problem,  that  of  America  and  Af- 
rica compared,  167. 

New  Guinea,  187. 

New  York  city,  an  early  Methodist  cir- 
cuit, 38  ;  origin  of  its  preachers'  meeting, 
38;  missionary  work  of  children,  40;  its 
population  measured  in  home  cities,  121, 
122 ;  measured  in  foreign  cities,  122. 

New  Zealand  a  Protestant  field,  136. 

Newman,  Bishop  J.  P.,  in  Valparaiso,  151, 

Ninde,  Bishop  W.  X.,  approved  League 
missionary  movement,  263,  264. 

Nineteenth  century,  its  achievements,  22 ; 
missionary  progress  in,  22-25 ;  Methodist 
missions  of,  35-54. 

North,  F.  M.,  address  on  "  Our  City  Prob- 
lem," 14,  121-134 :  One  of  world  impor- 
tance, 121;  its  American  aspect,  121; 
problem  one  of  extension,  121;  vastness 
of  New  York,  121,  122 ;  our  six  largest 
cities,  122,  123  ;  the  city-ward  trend,  123  ; 
the  rapid  rise  of  lar^e  cities,  123,  124 ; 
problem  one  of  intension,  124, 125  ;  range 
of  race  and  idea,  125 ;  hunger  and  home- 
lessness,  126,  127  ;  all  personal  and  social 
problems  involved,  127;  the  problem  a 
test,  127;  ideals,  methods,  resources, 
128-130;  test  is  opportunity,  130-133  ;  op- 
portunity is  duty,  133, 134.  Section  Con- 
ference speaker,  19 ;  participant  in  pro- 
gram, 20. 

Northwestern  University  strong  in  its 
mission  record,  320. 

Norwegians,  open  to  the  Gospel,  115 ;  have 
been  responsive  to  it,  120,  132. 

Nuns,  pure  lives  and  kifluence  in  the 
Philippines,  140. 

O 

Oberlin  College,  32a 

O'Brien,  T.  A.  H.,  Section  Conference 
discussion,  372,  373.  . 

Ohio  Wesleyan  University,  its  missionary 
record,  320. 

Oldham,  W.  P.,  address  on  "What  the 
District  Missionary  Secretary  Can  Do," 
16,  233-237 :  He  is  the  presiding  elder's 
lieutenant,  233,  234 ;  a  prepared  leader, 
233 ;  his  study  of  the  district,  234 ;  dis- 
seminates literature,  234 ;  uses  returned 
missionaries,  234 ;  develops  League,  Sun- 
day school,  and  camp  meeting  possibil- 
ities, 23s;  pushes  the  "Iowa  plan,"  235, 
236;  helps  to  lead  the  Church  into  a 
new  missionary  day,  237.  Address 
on  "The  Deaconess  as  a  Missionary 
Worker,"  19,  357-359 :  Her  likeness  and 
unlikeness  to  the  Catholic  nun,  357;  her 


INDEX 


vital  relation  to  our  city  problem,  357- 
359 ;  service  in  hospital  and  orphanage, 

358. 
Open  Door  Emergency  Commission,  ap- 

pomtment  of,  4. 
Open  Door  in  Africa,  163-181,    For  analy 

SIS  see  Hartzell,  Bishop  J.  C. 
Open  Door  in  Eastern  Asia,  155-163     Foi 

analysis  see  Moore,  Bishop  D.  H 
Open  Door  in  Hawaii  and  the  Philippines 

135-144.     For  analysis  see  Stuntz,  H   C. 
Open  Door  m  Latin  Countries,  145-155.   For 

analysis  see  McCabe,  Bishop  C.  C. 
Open  Door  in  Southern  Asia,  181-189.    For 

analysis  see  Thoburn,  Bishop  J.  M. 
Opium  habit,  269. 
Opportunity,  urgent,  277. 
Oregon,  the,  283,  284. 
Organization  of  the  convention,  3-12. 
Our  Cit}-  Problem,  121-134.     For  analysis 

see  North,  F.  M. 
Our    Foreign    Populations    and    How  to 

Reach  Them,  1 12-120.    For  analysis  see 

Addicks,  G.  B. 
Our  Opportunity,  71-04.    For  analysis  see 

Fowler,  Bishop  C.  H. 


Pacific  Ocean,  islands  and  shores  coming 
under  Protestant  influence,  136,  137. 

Palmer,  A.  J.,  missionary  secretary,  54. 

Parker,  Bishop  E.  W.,  referred  to,  24,212. 

Parker,  Mrs.  E.  W.,  an  organizer  of 
Woman's  Foreign  Missionary  Society, 

51- 

Pastor,  What  He  Can  Do  for  Missions,  238- 
243.  For  analysis  see  Wilson,  J.  O.  The 
key  to  the  situation,  229,  230 ;  must  have 
a  more  profound  conviction,  ^00;  how 
best  advance  the  cause  of  missions,  363- 
377. 

Paul,  the  apostle,  referred  to,  129, 243,  281, 
323- 

Peck,  J.  O.,  missionary  secretary,  53. 

Peking  siege,  161,  313-315. 

Peking  University,  313,  315. 

Penzotti,  his  case  changing  public  senti- 
ment in  Peru,  149. 

Perrin,  W.  T.,  address  on  "  W"hat  the  Pre- 
siding Elder  Can  Do,"  16,  223-231 :  His 
missionary  service,  223-231 ;  character, 
study,  and  enthusiasm,  223,224;  officiallj^ 
a  leader  of  leaders,  224-226 ;  missionary' 
institutes,  226,  227  ;  use  of  literature,  227  ; 
approval  of  the  "  station  plan,"  227,  228  ; 
the  apportionments,  228 ;  indirect  influ- 
ence by  example  and  ideal,  229-231. 

Persia,  outlook  toward,  186. 

Personal  contact,  essential  in  reaching 
foreign  peoples,  116,  117;  power  of  kind 
words,  117  ;  tracts  have  a  place,  117,  118  ; 
giving  help  in  need,  118;  value  or  port 
mission,  118,  119. 

Peru,  passing  of  the  Inquisition,  149  ;  Pen- 
zotti and  position  of  public  men,  149, 150. 

Peter,  the  apostle,  source  of  his  power,  258. 

Petersen,  O.  P.,  the  father  of  Norwegian 
Methodism,  120;  referred  to,  132. 

Philippine  Islands,  The  Open  Door  in,  135- 
144.  For  analysis  see  Stuntz,  H.  C. 
Needs  of,  32,  33 ;  quickly  won  for  the 
United  States,  but  longer  process  to 
assimilate,  65;  thrust  on  the  nation  un- 
expectedly, 73-75;  a  great  missionary 
opportunity,  75,  76;  part  of  Southern 
Asia  field,  181 ;  Bishop  Thoburn's  lead- 
ings into,  186;  referred  to,  229. 

Pitman,  Charles,  missionary  advocate, 
46,  52. 

26 


^     4O! 

Place  of  Prayer  in  Missionary  Work,  255- 
259     For  analysis  see  Warren,  Bishop 

Porto  Rico,  its  urgent  claim  on  Protestant 
service.  176;  the  Woman's  Home  Mis- 
sionary Society  at  work  in,  355,  356 ;  re- 
ferred to,  229. 

Portugal,  religious  liberty  in,  150. 

Poituguese  in  America,  115. 

Potter,  J.  W.,  Section  Conference  discus- 
sion, 371. 

Prayer,  Its  Place  in  Missionary  Work,  255- 
259.  For  analj-sis  see  Warren,  Bishop 
H.  W.  Victory  through,  231 ;  law  of, 
274. 

Presbyterian  Church,  living  link  plan  of, 
228 ;  missionary  gifts  per  member,  232, 
319- 

Presiding:  Elder,  W' hat  He  Can  Do  to  Aid 
in  Missionary  Movement,  223-231.  For 
analysis  see  Perrin,  W.  T.  Best  plans 
for  promoting  mission  interests,  359-362. 

Presiding  elder's  district,  missionary 
policy  for  adopted,  362. 

Presiding  elders,  one  fourth  of  present  at 
Cleveland,  280. 

Press  and  literature,  in  Philippines,  143 ; 
in  Mexico,  146;  in  Africa,  174,  176,  178; 
the  Church  papers,  295,  296. 

Primitive  Methodist  Church,  37. 

Program  Committee,  5. 

Protestant  Episcopal  Church  calls  for  one 
million  dollars  for  the  Philippines,  319. 

Protestant  expansion  in  the  Pacific,  136- 
138. 

Purpose  of  the  Convention,  21-28.  For 
analysis  see  Andrews,  Bishop  E.  G. 

Q 

Quarterly  Conference,  Church  leaders 
and  officers  can  be  inspired  to  action  by 
presiding  elder,  224-226. 

R 

Reasons  Why  the  Home  Church  Must  Go 
Forward,  268-278.  For  analysis  see 
Mott,  J.  R. 

Reeder,  J.  L.,  Section  Conference  discus- 
sion, 369,  370. 

Reid,  J.  M.,  missionary  secretary,  53,  183. 

Rescue  mission  work  and  its  place,  131. 

Responsibility  Resting  upon  Delegates  to 
This  Convention,  316-321.  For  analysis 
see  Mott,  J.  R. 

Revival,  the  missionary  collection's  best 
friend,  230. 

Riis,  Jacob,  his  estimate  of  poverty,  126. 

Roman  Catholicism,  contrast  to  Metho- 
dism, 48,  49;  its  effect  superior  to  that  of 
heathen  religions,  140 ;  oppressive  and 
persecuting  tendencies,  143,  177  ;  super- 
stitions, 152,  153 ;  worth  of,  despite 
faults,  161 ;  its  real  strength  in  the  work 
of  its  sisterhoods,  357. 

Rome,  opening  in  for  Protestant  work,  49. 

Russia,  stopped  by  India  fence,  136 ;  trans- 
Si'.jerian  line  to  Eastern  Asia,  136  :  pur- 
pose toward  Manchuria,  Korea,  Japan, 
136,137;  influence  of  Dewey's  victory, 
137- 

Rust,  Mrs.  R.  S.,  referred  to,  51. 


S 
Saloon  should  be  destroyed,  310. 
Samoa,  a   Pacific  stepping-stone    to   the 

Orient,  136. 
Savonarola  and  Florence,  127. 


402 


INDEX 


Scandinada,  Methodist  statistics,  31; 
needs  of,  32  ;  rise  of  missions  in,  50. 

Scandinavian  Methodists,  large  average 
gifts  for  missions,  232. 

Schools,  under  American  teachers  in  the 
Philippines,  138  ;  in  Mexico,  146-148 ;  in 
South  America,  148-152  ;  in  China,  159 ; 
in  Africa,  174-180;  a  part  of  mission  en- 
terprise, 20s  ;  of  Woman's  Foreign  Mis- 
sionary Society,  344,  345- 

Settlements  a  factor  m  city  uplift,  131. 

Sheridan,  W.  F.,  Section  Conference  dis- 
cussion, 367,  368. 

Singapore,  its  strategic  position,  168,  187. 

Slavic  races  need  the  Gospel,  115. 

Smith,  C.  W.,  participant  in  program,  13. 

Smith,  G.  B.,  Section  Conference  discus- 
sion, 360,  361. 

Smyth,  G.  B.,  address  on  "  The  Need  of 
Missionary  Information  in  the  Home 
Church,  18,  287-301 :  A  frank  presentation 
required,  287-291 ;  the  glory  of  Christian 
altruism,  2S9 ;  missionaries  misrepre- 
sented by  travelers,  291  ;  true  views  of 
the  work,  292,  293  ;  sources  of  informa- 
tion, missionary  secretaries,  294 ;  the 
bishops,  295  ;  the  official  press,  295-297  ; 
missionary  literature,  297;  the  mission- 
aries, 298,  299  ;  the  pastors,  300,  301.  Sec- 
tion Conference  discussion,  374,  375. 

Somerset,  Lady  Henry,  198. 

South  African  Republic,  its  radical  defect, 
168;  treatment  of  natives,  168. 

South  African  war,  164. 

South  America,  statistics,  31  ;  needs  of, 
31,33;  mission  beginnings  in,  44  ;  early 
religious  view  of,  48 ;  great  size,  148 ; 
status  of  Christian  work  in  several 
countries,  148-155. 

Southern  Asia,  The  Open  Door  in,  181-189. 
For  analysis  see  Thoburn,  J,  M.  Sta- 
tistics, 31  ;  needs  of,  32,  33.  See  also 
India,  Malaysia,  Philippines,  and  Foss, 
Bishop  C.  D. 

Spanish  people  not  to  be  overlooked,  115. 

Spanish  reverses,  145,  146. 

Speer,  R.  E.,  address  on  "  Christ  Our  Liv- 
ing Leader,"  20,  321-334  ;  The  relation  of 
Christ  to  Christianity,  321,  322;  his  own 
statement,  and  that  of  Paul,  make  him 
the  living  Leader,  322,  323  ;  this  distin- 
guishes his  religion,  323,  324 ;  present 
need  of  living  fellowship  with  him,  325  ; 
Christ's  leadership  and  mastership  su- 
preme, 326-334. 

Spiritual  Preparation  for  Missionary 
Service,  55-63.  For  analysis  see  Tuttle, 
A.  H. 

Station  plan,  striking  results  of,  228,  235. 

Statistics,  nineteenth  century  progress, 
23  ;  missionary  gifts  show  small  gains  in, 
25  ;  summary  of  Methodist  missions,  31  ; 
increase  in  heathen  population,  64  ;  Bible 
circulation,  69  ;  Freedmen's  Aid,  103  ;  the 
negro's  response,  107-in  ;  city  popula- 
tions, 122-124;  foreign  population,  125; 
Philippine  hearers,  142  ;  African  popula- 
tion, 165-167 ;  Southern  Asian  popula- 
tion, 181  ;  gains  of  eleven  years  in  India, 
208;  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  in- 
come and  gifts,  218 ;  total  missionary 
offerings.  232  ;  average  per  member,  232, 
236;  wealth  of  Protestant  Christians  of 
the  United  States,  272 ;  their  possible 
gift  to  missions,  272  ;  what  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  or  League  might 
give,  272,  318  ;  average  gifts  not  recently 
increased,  319  ;  subscriptions  or  pledgee 
at  the  Financial  Session,  280  ;  equipment 
planned    by  other  Churches   and   our 


needs,  31,  319  ;  proportion  in  Twentieth 
Century  Thank  Oftering,  319 

Steele,  Daniel,  love  and  missions,  230. 

Stewards,  225. 

Stewart,  L.  H.,  participant  in  Section 
Conference  discussion,  370. 

Storrs,  R,  S.,  illustration,  212. 

Strobridge,  G.  E.,  Section  Conference 
discussion,  376,  377. 

Student  Missionary  Campaign,  225,  235. 

Student  Volunteer  Movement,  Toronto 
Convention  of,  5  ;  Cleveland  Convention 
of,  262,  263;  referred  to,  24,  195,  225. 

Stuntz,  H.  C,  address  on"  The  Open  Door 
in  Hawaii  and  the  Philippines,''  15,  135- 
144  :  Open  doors  among  the  natives  and 
Japanese  in  Hawaii,  135;  our  providential 
entrance  into  the  Philippines,  1 35-137  ;  we 
have  brought  in  an  era  of  justice,  138  ; 
American  school-teachers,  138 ;  a  new 
language  and  sanitation,  138,  139;  wide 
sphere  of  Christian  influence  opened, 
139 ;  prepared  for  a  better  type  of  Chris- 
tianity, 140;  opening  of  the  field  and  the 
work,  140-142  ;  Bishop  Thoburn  and  Za- 
mora,  141,  142;  eager  hearers,  142,  143; 
converts  and  needs,  143,  144;  Christian 
press  and  literature,  143.  Section  Con- 
ference discussion,  361,  362. 

Sunday  School  Superintendent,  What 
He  Can  Do  for  Missions,  16,  244-249.  For 
analysis  see  Cooper,  W.  W.  Presiding 
elder's  helpful  relation  to,  224,  225  ;  dis- 
trict secretary  to  aid,  235. 

Sunday  schools,  an  all>;  of  the  Missionary 
Society,  69  ;  increase  in,  69  ;  conversions 
in,  69;  class  missionary  spirit,  246;  pri- 
mary organization,  246;  a  most  promis- 
ing missionary  field,  259 ;  should  give 
definite  instruction  as  to  giving,  303; 
Methodist  young  woman  in  origin  of,  309. 

Sutherland,  G.  F.,  Section  Conference  dis- 
cussion, 373. 

Swedes,  the  Gospel  for,  115,  119;  success 
among,  120. 

T 

Taylor,  E.  M.,  address  on  "Why  the 
World  Should  be  Speedily  Evangelized," 
15,  189-J99  :  It  will  bring  the  kingdoni  of 
heaven  into  human  life,  189;  the  mind 
and  purpose  of  Christ,  190,  191 ;  reflex  in- 
fluence of  mission  effort,  191,  192 ;  it 
means  the  loyal  use  of  opportunity,  193- 
195;  expresses  gratitude  for  great  work 
accomplished,  195,  196  ;  missionary  con- 
version of  our  Anglo-Saxon  ancestors, 
196-198 ;  the  appeal  of  paganism,  199. 
Quick  result  if  the  Church  could  both 
be  revived  and  give  the  tithe,  255.  Par- 
ticipant in  program,  13, 17  ;  Section  Con- 
ference discussion,  363. 

Taylor,  S.  Earl,  address  on  "Young  Peo- 
ple and  Missions,"  17,  259-267:  The 
term  "  young  people  "  includes  Sunday 
schools,  young  people's  societies,  and 
Methodist  colleges,  259  ;  a  well-organized 
army,  261;  fitted  for  world  enterprise,26i; 
divine  impulse  in  the  movement,  262, 
263 ;  period  of  simple  growth  passing,  263 ; 
the  goal  and  the  training  of  leaders,  264  ; 
a"  part  of  Methodism  and  the  future 
Church, 264;  inspiring  elements  of  youth, 
265 ;  a  campaign  of  education,  266 ;  an  ap- 
peal,a  challenge,  and  a  prophecy,  266,  267. 
Member  and  secretary  of  Program 
Committee,  5. 

Taylor,  Bishop  William,  his  missionary 
spirit  born  of  Methodism,  52  ;  his  career 
a  part  of  Methodist  missions,  52  ;  the 


INDEX 


403 


fields  he  developed,  52 ;  his  first  book, 
1J2  ;  mission  building  at  Loanda,  175  ;  a 
leader  of  the  advance,  195  ;  a  model  in 
his  devotion,  243  ;  referred  to,  229. 

Terry,  David,  recording  secretary,  53. 

Teutonic  peoples,  the  Gospel  for,  115. 

Thirkield,  Mrs.  \V.  P.,  address  on  "The 
Value  of  Industrial  Training  in  Our 
Southern  Schools,"  19,  348-353:  The 
Woman's  Home  Missionary  Society's 
industrial  training  of  girls  m  Southern 
schools  a  greatly  needed  and  most  val- 
uable work,  348,  349;  those  so  trained 
tested  in  real  life,  349  ;  foundation  work 
for  future  mothers  and  homes,  350,  351  ; 
an  ofifset  to  the  forces  of  ignorance,  vice, 
and  crime,  J51-353. 

Thoburn,  Bishop  J.  M.,  address  on  "The 
Open  Door  in  Southern  Asia,"  15, 181-189 : 
The  field  defined,  i8i ;  progress  and  key 
position  of  our  missions,  181 ;  India  a 
mother  of  religions,  181,  182  ;  work  in 
twenty-eight  languages,  182 ;  its  provi- 
dential unfoldment,  183-185  ;  prophetic 
conviction  as  to  the  Philippines,  185, 186  ; 
outpost  toward  Persia,  186 ;  develop- 
ments from  Singapore,  186,  187  ;  begin- 
nings in  Borneo,  187;  pledge  of  a  head- 
hunter,  187,  188  ;  Methodism's  new  May- 
flower, 188 ;  multitudes  awaiting  bap- 
tism, 188,  189;  one  million  converted 
Church  members  a  near  possibility 
in  India,  189;  ten  million  moving 
Christward  in  ten  years,  189.  "Clos- 
ing Address,"  20,  334-337  :  A  new  era, 
334.  335  ;  preaching  Christ  the  preemi- 
nent work,  335  ;  knowing  him  in  per- 
sonal experience  and  leadership,  336, 
337;  this  movement  means  the  inaugu- 
ration of  America's  greatest  revival, 
337.  Prophecy  concerning  Philippines, 
141  ;  official  opening  of  the  field|as  a  mis- 
sion, 141,  175  ;  God's  directing  hand,  183- 
186;  estimate  of  possible  progress  in 
India,  20^11  ;  his  impregnable  faith, 
330;  participant  in  program,  14,  17,  18; 
referred  to,  3. 

Thobura,  Miss  Isabella,  referred  to,  51,281. 

Thompson,  D.  D.,  participant  in  pro- 
gram, 17,  19. 

Tithing,  Old  Testament  sanction  for,  216  ; 
confirmed  by  Christ,  217  ;  possible  ex- 
ceptions of  necessity  and  mercv,  217, 
218  ;  no  concrete  case  of  real  difficulty 
known,  218  ;  objection  by  the  rich  and 
comfortable  rather  than  the  poor,  218  ; 
Church  can  be  brought  to  this  propor- 
tion, 218 ;  the  Jewish  demonstration, 
222  ;  its  results  would  meet  the  crisis, 
222,  223 ;  presiding  elder's  practice  of, 
230 ;  plan  of  Thomas  Kane  inspired 
movement  at  Cincinnati,  251 ;  special 
points  of  tithing  at  Wesley  Chapel,  251- 
254  ;  Bible  teaching,  304,  305  ;  false  reli- 
gions made  strong  by,  307. 

Trimble,  J.  B.,  Section  Conference  disctts- 
sion,  359,  360. 

Trimble,  J.  M.,  missionary  secretary,  53. 

Tuttle,  A.  H.,  address  on  ''  Spiritual  Prep- 
aration for  Missionary  Service,"  13,  55- 
63:  Illustrated  by  missionaries,  55,  56; 
the  Holy  Spirit,  56,  57  ;  fellowship  with 
God,  58,  59 ;  self-denial  and  unworldli- 
ness,  60-62  ;  faith,  60,  61 ;  deeper  spiritual 
life,  62,  63. 

Tuttle,  D.  L.,  Section  Conference  discus- 
sion, 379,  380. 

Twentieth  Century  Thank  Offering,  prod- 
uct of  faith  of  a  Methodist  girl,  309; 
inadequate  share  for  missions,  319. 


U 


UnUali,  center  of  Methodist  East  African 
missions,  178. 

United  Methodist  Free  Church,  37. 

United  States,  obligation  of  to  God,  yj.  94  ; 
strategic  position  of  as  factor  in  world 
evangelization,  135,  136;  mingling  of 
racial  qualities  in,  135,  136  ;  influence  of 
in  Africa,  169. 


Value  of  Industrial  Training  in  Our  South- 
ern Schools.  348-353.  For  analysis  see 
Thirkield,  Mrs.  W.  P. 

Vickrey,  C.   V.,  participant  in  program, 

1  '7' 

V  incent,  Bishop  J.  H.,  participant  in  pro- 
gram, 16. 

AV 

Wade,  C.  U.,  Section  Conference  discus- 
sion, 360. 

Warne,  Bishop  F.  W.,  organization  of  a 
Filipino  church,  142 ;  visits  outpost 
toward  Persia,  186. 

Warren,  Bishop  H.  W.,  address  on  "The 
Place  of  Prayer  in  Missionary  Work,"  16, 
255-259  :  Key  of  power  and  success  in  mis- 
sions, 255,  256  ;  God  the  ultimate  source 
of  power,  256  ;  mights  that  are  immeas- 
urable, 256,  257 ;  revealed  in  the  Bible, 
257,  258  ;  Christ's  prajer  life,  258;  Peter, 
Luther,  Wesley,  Knox,  Livingstone, 
258;  each  can  bring  this  contribution  to 
Gospel  triumph,  258,259.  Participant  in 
program,  15  ;  report  address  to  the 
Church,  20. 

Washburn,  G.  F.,  participant  in  program, 
19. 

Welsh,  Gospel  success  among,  120. 

Wesley  Chapel,  Cincinnati,  What  It  Has 
Done  by  use  of  the  tithing  system,  250- 
255.    For  analysis  see  Magruder,  J.  W. 

Wesley,  John,  early  work  in  America,  35, 
36;  his  method  at  Litchfield,  114;  his 
large  constructive  outlook,  129;  truths 
given  fresh  power  by,  201,  202  ;  prayer 
life  of,  258. 

Wesleyan  Methodist  Church,  missions  of, 
36,  37  ;  strong  mission  work  of  in  Africa, 

,,.'72,  173- 

W  hat  a  Local  Church  Has  Done,  250-255. 
For  analj-sis  see  Magruder,  J.  W. 

What  Money  Means  for  Educational 
Work  in  the  Foreign  Fields,  311-315.  For 
analysis  see  Gamewell,  F.  D. 

What  "Retrenchment"  Means,  201-213. 
For  analysis  see  Foss,  Bishop  C.  D. 

What  the  District  Missionary  Secretary- 
Can  Do,  233-237.  For  analysis  see  Old- 
ham, W.  F. 

What  the  Pastor  Can  Do,  238-243.  For 
analysis  see  Wilson,  T.  O. 

What  the  Presiding  Elder  Can  Do,  223-231. 
For  analysis  see  Perrin,  W.  T. 

What  the  Sunday  School  Superintendent 
Can  Do,  244-249.  For  analysis  see 
Cooper,  W.  W. 

White  man's  burden  in  Africa,  166,  167. 

Why  the  World  Should  be  Speedily  Evan- 
gelized, 189-199.  For  analysis  see  Tay- 
lor, E.  M. 

Wiley,  Bishop  I.  W.,  buried  in  China,  54. 

Willard,  Frances,  referred  to,  108. 

Williams,  Mrs.  Delia  L.,  address  on  "The 
Work  of  the  Woman's  Home  Missionary 
Society,"  19,  346-348  :  Varied  activities 
of,  346,347  ;  membership,  gifts,  and  prog- 
ress,  347.     See    also    Alaska,    Hawaii, 


404 


INDEX 


and  Porto  Rico ;  Industrial  Training ; 
and  Deaconess. 

Wilson,  J.  O.,  address  on  "What  the  Pastor 
Can  Do,"  i6,  238-243:  From  the  pastoral 
ranks  come  the  various  Church  and  mis- 
sionary officers,  238-243  ;  the  pivotal  man, 
238  ;  a  missionary  pastorate  will  make  a 
missionary  people,  238;  his  obligation  re- 
specting missions,  239  ;  to  the  collection, 
23Q ;  to  inspire  generous  support  from 
the  mines  of  wealth  in  the  Church,  239, 
240  ;  heart  grov^rth,  241  ;  world  thoughts, 
plans,  and  prayers,  242  ;  a  cosmopolitan 
spirit,  242  ;  the  sttidy  of  model  mission- 
aries, 242,  243  ;  the  creation  of  a  mission- 
ary Church,  243. 

Winton,  Rev.  G.  B.,  participant  in  pro- 
gram, 16. 

Wishard,  L.  D„  participant  in  program, 
15  ;  Section  Conference  discussion,  380, 
381. 

Woman's  Foreign  Missionary  Society,  Its 
Equipment  and  Outlook,  338-345.  For 
analysis  see  Gracey,  Mrs.  J.  T.  Pioneer 
forms  of  and  organization,  51 ;  contribu- 
tions in  1901,  65  ;  spirit  of  its  workers, 
66 ;  schools  in  Mexico,  148  ;  referred  to, 
225,  297,  319. 

Woman's  Home  Missionary  Society,  Work 
of,  346-348.  For  analysis  see  Williams, 
Mrs.  Delia  L.  Organization  of,  51  ;  lines 
of  activity,  66,  225. 

Woman's  Mission  Friend  commended, 
297. 


Womanhood,  Anglo-Saxon  transformed, 
198  ;  that  of  Asia  must  have  Christ,  199. 

Wood,  J.  W.,  his  great  work  in  Ecuador, 
148  ;  persecution  and  its  result,  149. 

Woodruff,  Mrs.  May  L.,  address  on  "Alas- 
ka, Hawaii,  and  Porto  Rico,"  19,  354-356. 
See  under  these  titles. 

Words  Are  Spirit  and  Life,  94-100.  For 
analysis  see  Haven,  W.  I. 

Work  of  the  Woman's  Home  Missionary 
Society,  346-348.  For  analysis  see  Wil- 
liams, Mrs.  D.  L. 

World's  Student  Christian  Federation, 
315- 

World-Wide  Missions,  to  be  largely  used, 
227 ;  sent  to  those  giving  a  dollar  for 
missions,  234. 

Y 

Young,  J.  B.,  Section  Conference  discus- 
sion, 369. 

Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  70. 

Young  People  and  Missions,  233-237.  For 
analysis  see  Taylor,  S.  Earl.  Achieve- 
ments of,  265,  308,  309 ;  methods  of  pro- 
moting missionary  interest  among,  382. 


Zamora,  Nicolas,  preaches  and  is  or- 
dained, 141,  142  ;  scholarship  of,  142. 

Ziegenbalg,  study  of  the  Bible  on  ship- 
board, 98. 

Zion's  Herald,  value  in  missionary  edu- 
cation, 227. 


Princet 


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